Over $10M for stormwater management in Ville-Marie borough
Posted September 5, 2025 10:14 am.
Last Updated September 9, 2025 9:22 pm.
The borough of Ville-Marie invested over $10 million in stormwater management projects so far in 2025.
In a press release Friday, the borough said the investment in drainage infrastructure projects were to “strengthen the resilience of its infrastructure in the face of climate change” as the heavy rains are becoming more frequent.
The borough said Ville-Marie will see an increase of 1,200 cubic metres of drainage infrastructure when projects are completed. This would represent nearly 15 per cent of the city’s target of 8,500 cubic metres.
Larivière Street, between De Lorimier Avenue and Parthenais Street, in Sainte-Marie has been designated as a “sponge” street where retention basins and planting boxes to capture and retain nearly 900 cubic metres of rainwater, the press release.
“Those kinds of infrastructure are a good way to prevent flooding,” said Simon Legault, scientific communicator for Ouranos Inc. “We expect stronger storms and more extreme rain fall during summertime. Some infrastructure is needed in many urban places like Montreal.”
Montrealers met on Tuesday in Ville-Marie welcomed the ‘sponge street’ initiative.
“It brings awareness of what’s going on with the global warming”, said Mathieu. “I’ve been living in the neighborhood for about 10 years and I think it’s a great idea. We need to give it a try.”
“It would help a lot people because there are many who live in flood-prone areas that don’t have an insurance. So they lose a lot of things. They lose their housing, they lose their possessions. It can really crush someone,” added Sheila.
The work is expected to be completed between spring and summer 2026.
“Experts and studies show that large-scale drainage systems are one of the most effective solutions for making our city more resilient and reducing the impact of heavy rains on Montrealers and our buildings,” said Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal and Ville-Marie.
“As the air gets warmer due to climate change, the capacity of air to sustain more water into it and then getting heavier downpour with the rainfall —it’s going to increase,” said Legault. He added that we can expect 15 per cent more of heavy precipitation over the next 15 to 20 years. “That’s going to be coming more intense and more frequent.”
Another project is underway in the La Ligne Verte alley, also in in the Sainte-Marie sector and is expected to be completed next month. This drainage and green strips added as part of the project will provide a retention capacity of 135 cubic metres, the press release said.
Apart from drainage swales, the borough and the city has also improved the efficiency of the sewer system by adding overflow pipes on Parthenais and Sainte-Catherine East streets, as well as Hochelaga and Sheppard streets.
“Among the major projects planned for the future is the rehabilitation of the sewer collector located under D’Iberville, Larivière and Fullum streets, which dates back to 1891,” according to the statement.
The borough said that also made changes to the building code to limit underground construction in high-risk areas and took more preventive maintenance measures in vulnerable areas.
