More cottages than residents
The MRC de Papineau counts a little over 400 residents in Lac-des-Plages and around 1,000 cottagers. The lake's name was suggested by cottagers who were drawn to its beaches, and the municipality took it when it was created in 1950. It's on Route 323, right at the edge of the Laurentians.
Quebec's environment ministry lists no municipal water system here. Each cottage has its own well, pump and pressure tank (wells and pumps). In a cottage left empty part of the winter, a leak can go unnoticed.
Fall and spring
Two moments matter most: closing and opening. Closing an unheated cottage means draining the lines, the water heater and the pressure tank. If you're keeping the water on, you need heat and heat cable in the right spots. Opening means bringing the water back slowly and watching for leaks.
We have published two articles on the subject: closing the cottage for winter and opening the cottage in spring.
The cottage septic tank
Under the provincial regulation, a septic tank used seasonally gets pumped at least once every 4 years; a year-round home, every 2 years. If the tank or the field shows signs of wear, we replace it with our own excavator (septic systems).