JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
St. Lazare will not follow other municipalities in the 1019 region with a temporary ban on non-essential water-use activities amid hot temperatures, according to Mayor Geneviève Lachance.
“We’re nowhere close to a ban,” Lachance told The 1019 Report. “According to our infrastructure department, we’re doing fine at this point.”
Although there is no water shortage in St. Lazare, water usage has increased in the past weeks, and is now considered excessive, according to barometer signs posted along main arteries.
This comes after several municipalities in the region placed temporary bans on lawn watering and other non-essential water-consuming outdoor activities earlier this month. Though temperatures have cooled a bit this week, these bans will remain for the remainder of the summer season.
In the past weeks, the towns of Hudson, Les Cèdres and Vaudreuil-Dorion have all announced bans on lawn watering, pool filling and the washing of cars, windows and driveways.
The smaller towns of Vaudreuil sur le Lac and L’Île Cadieux also have the bans in place, as they are connected to the Vaudreuil-Dorion water supply network.
The municipalities of Rigaud and Pointe des Cascades had previously implemented similar bans earlier this summer, which continue.
In separate public announcements, the municipalities all stated that these measures would prioritize water for drinking, infrastructure use and firefighting.
The restrictions came as Quebec’s wildfire management agency – known by its French acronym SOPFEU – listed Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Montreal and the North Shore as under “extreme” risk for wildfires earlier this month. The situation has since improved, with the SOPFEU lowering the region’s wildfire risk to “moderate.”
Bylaws in St. Lazare restrict the use of water to clean driveways or to fill swimming pools, while lawn watering using mechanical or automatic sprinklers is limited to a strict schedule. Lawn watering using a manual hose and washing individual cars is still permitted at all times.
The town has seen water usage increase in the past three weeks. Last week, St. Lazare’s water consumption was 9,054 m³; while the previous week, from Aug. 4-10, water usage hit 10,012 m³. And the week before that, from July 28-Aug. 3, it hit 9,090 m³.
An acceptable level of consumption is set at 7,299 m³ or less.
At this time last year water usage in St. Lazare was considered acceptable as it averaged about 6,500 m³ per week.
Residents should not confuse the barometer reading of usage levels with available levels of water, Lachance said.
“The barometer is to create awareness about consumption and doesn’t indicate that we’re running out of water,” she said. “As always, we encourage people to use water responsibly and follow bylaws on exterior use of potable water,” she explained.
For the time being, the bans are in place elsewhere in the region. Municipal inspectors are patrolling the towns that have bans in place to ensure residential compliance with these measures. First-time infractions could result in fines ranging from $250 to $500. Vaudreuil-Dorion and Hudson have announced its bans will remain in place until Sept. 2, at which time they will be reassessed.