The City of Chateauguay this summer has added panels with the inscription “Bathing forbidden” and “Risk of drowning” at Valerie Fournel Park.
This action is the result of preoccupations expressed by a citizen to elected municipal officials on June 15. Gail Catherine Walker stated then that lots of new Chateauguay residents were not able to be aware of the great danger hidden by the dam in the Chateauguay River at that spot. The cement dam being dried up, and with several people seeking adventure there, she fears another tragedy.
The dam in question includes a passage for fish where a powerful suction effect is being produced. Whoever finds him/herself in the proximity can find him/herself inhaling under water and risk being drowned.
Since 1944, six people have lost their lives in this way. The park bears the name of the last victim, Valerie Fournel, who tragically drowned on June 11, 1999.
(Translation Dan Rosenburg)
