Watering ban in effect for thousands of West Island homes

A watering ban already in effect for multiple areas in Montreal’s West Island was extended on Tuesday.

Residents of the borough of L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève are being asked to avoid non-essential water use — such as watering their lawns or washing their cars — until further notice.

The City of Montreal had already issued a watering ban Monday for residents of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Senneville, and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue — all areas served by the Pierrefonds drinking water plant.

The ban is due to poor water quality in the Rivière-des-Prairies caused by unusually low water levels. This has placed increased demand on the Pierrefonds water treatment system. Despite the “significant strain,” officials confirm that drinking water remains safe and meets all quality standards.

“The quality of water at the river isn’t the greatest right now, which means that a filtration plant like this has to work overtime to be able to produce enough potable water for us to drink in our homes. “We’re asking folks to be responsible here,” said Jim Beis, borough mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

To protect the water supply during the ongoing heat wave, residents must avoid non-essential water use. Prohibited activities include lawn watering, filling pools, washing cars, and cleaning driveways or exterior walls using potable water. Potable-water-powered air conditioning systems are also not permitted.

“To have a hose running on your lawn all day because you want your grass green is an irresponsible way to use water, especially in these conditions,” said Beis.

The City of Montreal assures residents that the drinking water produced continues to meet the highest quality standards.

“Overall, I do completely understand their concern for the water levels,” said Loukas Peterson, Pierrefonds-Roxboro resident. “The only thing I personally am not liking is the fact that I wasn’t aware of this until like just now.”

“In order for us to be able to still drink water and have healthy bodies, I think it’s very important that we make sure that the water quality, just like the air quality, is at its best,” said Isaac Hall, Pierrefonds-Roxboro resident.

The watering ban will remain in place until further notice. Once lifted, regular water usage rules under Montreal’s by-laws will resume.

“If they tell us that the water is of excellent quality, we have nothing to do than to believe them and make sure that our residents have that information,” said Beis.

Environment Canada says that there hasn’t been more than one millimeter of rain in a single day recorded at Montreal-Trudeau airport since July 17th which could help explain why water levels are so low in Rivière-des-Prairies. 

“Over the past 10, 20 days or so, we’re at a water deficit from the rain of about 75 to 100 per cent,” said Steven Flisfeder, Meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. “So, it has been extremely dry relative to climatological norms.”

There are some exceptions, plants and flowers as well as a vegetable patch can be watered with a spray gun that closes when released and new residential lawns can also be watered with sprinklers. 

“The difficulty we have with this is how do we know what happens when a filtration plant like this could potentially close and supply water?,” said Beis. “That would be another level of intervention on behalf of the city. We’re not there yet. As far as we know, we’re not even close to that.”

For more information and updates, residents are encouraged to consult Montreal’s website.