Teleworking has had a direct effect on the use of drinking water in Montreal. Thus, water consumption increased by 22% last year in homes, while in businesses, industries and institutions, it decreased by 23%, indicates the 2020 assessment of the use of water. water from the City of Montreal. Beyond this anomaly attributable to the pandemic, one observation remains: hundreds of millions of liters of water are wasted every day in Montreal.
In 2020, despite the massive investments made over the years to rehabilitate underground infrastructure, just over a quarter of the water produced by water filtration plants, or 26.2%, was lost due to leaks in the aqueduct network, which corresponds to approximately 361 million liters per day. All the same, this is an improvement since in 2001, this rate reached 40%.
Montreal, however, did not succeed in achieving the objectives set by Quebec. The 2011-2017 Québec Drinking Water Saving Strategy aimed to reduce the loss rate to 20% of the volume of water distributed. Director General of the Eau Secours coalition, Rébecca Pétrin is surprised at the low progress recorded given all the efforts devoted to the rehabilitation of the underground network and the detection of leaks. “This is where we realize that the network is really aging. We must maintain the pace of what we have started to do on network maintenance. You absolutely must not slow down, ”she insists.
In 2020, spending by water services reached $ 776 million, or 4% more than in 2019, including $ 400 million in investments in water infrastructure. However, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs considers that an amount of 1.2 billion would be required, including 800 million in investments.
Large consumers
Since 2001, the quantity of water produced in the metropolitan area’s treatment plants has gradually declined, but Montrealers remain large consumers of water, more than the average for Quebecers and Canadians.
In 2020, the production of drinking water in the agglomeration reached 552 million cubic meters, which represents the equivalent of 729 liters per person per day, a decrease of 3% compared to 2019. takes into account only the consumption of the residential sector, by eliminating the part attributable to leaks and to industries, businesses and institutions, 367 liters of water are used daily by every Montrealer. This consumption is well above the Quebec average of 262 liters per person per day, and the Canadian average of 215 liters per person per day, according to Statistics Canada data from 2019.
The report mentions that this finding is notably attributable to the illegal use of water-cooled air conditioners in certain businesses and residences.
Rébecca Pétrin believes that the measures put in place by the City are quite insufficient to counter the waste of water. It must be said that in 2020, due to the pandemic, the activities of the Blue Patrol, responsible for carrying out awareness-raising operations among citizens, were suspended. Likewise, the inspections carried out by the boroughs were limited, which reduced the number of offenses from 680 to 70 between 2019 and 2020. offense, she notes. It does not help to correct the situation. We must especially not give up on this because the recalcitrant, we must continue to penalize them. “
To improve its record, the city should consider certain incentives, such as offering subsidies for appliances or toilets that would consume less water, believes Mr.me Kneader.
Montreal will also have to go ahead with volumetric water pricing in the non-residential sector, a project that is slow to be realized. So far, just over 20,000 meters have been installed out of the 23,500 planned. “Industries, businesses and institutions use nearly half of the water consumed in Montreal. Apart from volumetric pricing, there is not much else that is offered to reduce their consumption, ”regrets Rébecca Pétrin.
And when the City has determined the tariffs to be imposed, it will be necessary to ensure that for the industries that consume the most water, these correspond to the real cost of water treatment, or $ 5 per cubic meter, she said. : “If it is less, that means that it is the citizens who will pay for it. “