Defence Minister Peter MacKay will tour Quebec's flooded areas along the Richelieu River on Wednesday, but the federal government says the military will not be available to help in the province's clean-up efforts.

Water levels along the river, just south of Montreal, remain at historic highs. But local officials are now planning for the post-flooding aftermath.

To date, more than 3,000 homes have been flooded and 1,000 people have been moved from the area since the river began to overwhelm its banks a month ago.

But a recent letter from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews suggested that the military shouldn't be counted on to help the affected communities once the water subsides. The letter, dated May 20, was forwarded by reporters by the Quebec government on Tuesday.

The letter's release comes amid a growing furor over the provincial emergency response to the flood.

The letter could be seen as a way for the provincial government to deflect criticism about their performance as thousands have been forced from their homes.

In the correspondence to Quebec officials, Toews wrote that he would not take steps to transfer the request to Defence Minister Peter MacKay, because the pair had already agreed that the request for cleanup was not appropriate.

"As you can appreciate the role of the Canadian Forces is principally based on defence activities and, as a result, they must maintain a capacity to act in that regard when events occur in other provinces or overseas," Toews told his Quebec counterpart Robert Dutil.

"Furthermore, the services you're asking for -- if they were authorized -- would place the Canadian Forces in competition with the private sector, at the local or provincial level, which could perform this type of repair work."

In the town of Venise-en-Quebec, east of Montreal, Mayor Jacques Landry is depending on volunteers to help restore the community when water levels finally subside.

"I want Venise-en-Quebec to be the first town to be cleaned up," he told CTV News. "I am privileged to be the mayor of a town where people can count on each other for help."

Recently, 250 reserve forces were deployed to the area, doubling the number of military personnel in the area to 500.

The additional troops arrived late last night in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Maj. Richard Collin, Domestic Task Force deputy commander, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.

"They were quickly deployed on the ground to react to the demands of the local authorities," he said.

The troops will be repairing dykes, setting up and distributing sandbags and conducting visits to flood damaged areas.

The area was on an evacuation standby yesterday but the Canadian Forces did not institute it, Collin said.

However, there is concern the water may be contaminated in some areas.

"From what we've been getting from the provincial authorities, everything south of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu we've been told, is pretty bad water," Collin said. "The civilians need to buy or ask for clean water."

The Richelieu River hit a historic 100-year high on May 6. The waterway has since subsided but is expected to rise another 20 centimetres by Tuesday, returning to historically high levels.

In recent days, high winds have pushed water northward from Lake Champlain into the flooded section of the Richelieu River. The additional volume, along with high waves, has threatened to flood more homes along the river.

At the peak of the disaster, more than 800 troops were stationed in the region to help residents lay sandbags, protect infrastructure and help residents leave the area.

Canadian Forces members have also been helping out in Manitoba in recent weeks.

With a report by CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin in Venise-en-Quebec