BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

Water meters will begin to be required in all non-residential buildings in St. Lazare by next fall, according to a new bylaw set to be approved by council next month.

The move is the result of the municipality failing to meet water-usage targets set by the provincial government.

“It is being imposed on us to reduce consumption,” said St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance in an interview with The 1019 Report.

Eventually, all homes will have to be equipped with the devices to track their water use, she added. But for now, only 60 homes will be fitted with meters to provide municipal officials with a sampling of the level of individual household use in the residential sector. The selection of these homes will be on a voluntary basis, Lachance said.

In addition, according to the proposed bylaw, all new homes built after the bylaw is approved will have to be constructed “in anticipation of the installation of a meter,” the proposed bylaw states.

“The government requires this because we did not meet the objectives,” Lachance said, referring to the Rapport annuel sur la gestion de l’eau potable, which the provincial government issues outlining the levels of water usage within the town.

In 2022, the provincial report that looked at water consumption recorded in 2021 included a clear warning: “If the municipality exceeds one of the objectives in the 2021 balance sheet, the installation of water meters in all non-residential buildings (industries, shops and institutions), targeted mixed buildings, municipal buildings and on a sample of 60 residential buildings will be required progressively by Sept. 1, 2025,” the report stated.

Although measures to reduce water usage, like restricting the washing of driveways and banning car-wash fundraisers, and public awareness campaigns to encourage a reduction in usage have helped reduce the amount of water being consumed on a per-capita basis in the last few years, water use in the town remains above the provincial targets.

In the latest report available, issued in November 2023, water usage in 2022 in St. Lazare was estimated at 194 litres per person per day, 10 litres above the provincial target set at 184 litres.

In 2021, water use in the municipality was 211 litres per person per day, or 27 litres above the provincial target. That follows previous years of even higher water usage.

In 2020, water usage in St. Lazare was estimated at 224 litres per person per day. In 2019, it was 260 litres.

“We are using too much water,” Lachance said, explaining the issue is not strictly a function of water shortage, but of conservation.

Providing potable water is one of the most expensive services provided by the municipality, she said, adding provincial authorities are moving slowly toward imposing a “pay per use” model.

“We are pretty much going that way,” Lachance said, but stressed there is no estimated timeline for when water meters would be required in all homes.

St. Lazare is not the first municipality in Vaudreuil-Soulanges to impose water meters. Residents of Notre Dame de l’Île Perrot are required to submit their water meter readings to the municipality every summer.