Leisure and Environment

Up until 1946, few activities took place at Lake Fortin. Most land located by the lake was used for haying or served as grassland for animals. Leisure around the lake was limited to some fishing and swimming. The Lacourcière and Tashereau-Fortier families were then the only ones to own a cottage by the lake.

Société du Patrimoine de Saint-Victor-de-Beauce

Doctor Eugène Fortin was also among the first to have a cottage built by Lake Fortin. He was also one of the first to promote tourism by facilitating access to Lake Fortin, to make it a resort. Close to ten cottages were built in the 1950s, and were owned by people from Saint-Victor, but also from elsewhere in Beauce and Quebec City.

Société du Patrimoine de Saint-Victor-de-Beauce

Permanent houses appeared by the lake around the 1980s. With the arrival of sewers, waste and septic tank flowing into the lake, with the construction of many docks and the development of artificial beaches, the environment deteriorated. In order to address this, the Lake Fortin Protection Association (Association pour la protection du lac Fortin or APELF) was founded in 1980. This organization contributed to cleaning the water from the lake. It also planted trees to control erosion.

SOURCE : JEROME BELANGER

In the 2000s, Lake Fortin, as many other lakes in the province, was affected by blue-green algal blooms. Since then, the Quebec government adopted a policy on the protection of riverbanks, shore areas and floodplains and pays close attention to Quebec lakes and watercourses. APELF is working hard to educate the 200 people living by the lake about environmental issues.

Société du Patrimoine de Saint-Victor-de-Beauce, Daniel Corriveau, phot.

Lake Fortin is located 2.5 km south of Saint-Victor. It is 2.2 km long and 1.5 km-wide. It is a mostly shallow lake, with a greater depth of 13.2 meters. This lake feeds the water intake of Beauceville, located on the Moulin River. Fish species found in the lake and popular with anglers are walleye, small-mouth bass and perch. Approximately 200 houses are built along its shoreline, mainly cottages used in summer. The lake water quality greatly deteriorated over the past 30 years. Numerous aquatic plants started growing, resulting from polluant inputs such as phosphorus and nitrogen. Water clarity also decreased.  The Lake Fortin Protection Association (Association pour la protection du lac Fortin or APELF) was created as a result of this water clarity decrease. Residents created this association to slow down the deterioration of the lake. APELF's mission is to educate residents about pollution, to work with them and the municipalities of Saint-Victor and Saint-Alfred, since part of the lake (about 25%) is located in Saint-Alfred, to find solutions to address pollution. For example, in 2014, APELF provided residents with over 12,000 plants to reforest the shores. In cooperation with APELF, Saint-Victor adopted a by-law forbidding the use of fertilizers and pesticides on the shoreline and requiring residents to reforest their lake front properties. Studies and other work to know and protect the lake are undertaken by APELF, with consistent and key support from Saint-Victor. APELF's Board of Directors consists of 7 members elected by members who own properties on Lake Fortin's shores.


In 2013, a new dam was built downstream of Lake Fortin. Lake Fortin's water pool provides for the vast majority of Beauceville's drinking water.

Source: http://www.enbeauce.com/actualites/societe/96991/nouveau-barrage-au-lac-fortin-dissiper-les-craintes, Bastien Thibodeau

Permanent houses appeared by the lake around the 1980s. With the arrival of sewers, waste and septic tank flowing into the lake, with the construction of many docks and the development of artificial beaches, the environment deteriorated. In order to address this, the Lake Fortin Protection Association (Association pour la protection du lac Fortin or APELF) was founded in 1980. This organization contributed to cleaning the water from the lake. It also planted trees to control erosion.

In the 2000s, Lake Fortin, as many other lakes in the province, was affected by blue-green algal blooms. Since then, the Quebec government adopted a policy on the protection of riverbanks, shore areas and floodplains and pays close attention to Quebec lakes and watercourses. APELF is working hard to educate the 200 people living by the lake about environmental issues.

SOURCE: CLAUDE POULIN

Thank you for exploring Saint-Victor with us!
Following this tour, you will find the heritage tour of the town of Saint-Alfred.
Project undertaken as part of the cultural development agreement.