Open Letter from Eau Secours!
Are citizens the water carriers for industries in Quebec?
Summer drinking water restrictions are becoming increasingly common in Quebec. Faced with supply problems, water infrastructure operating at full capacity, or infrastructure failures, cities and municipalities are forced to act to temporarily or more long-term restrict residential drinking water use. It must be admitted that we were long overdue for a collective awakening regarding our relationship with fresh water. This is especially true given that extreme weather events, including droughts, heat waves, and torrential rains, are expected to increase according to climate change models. But are residents the only ones bearing the burden of water conservation measures?
50% of the consumption, 100% of the effort
It is important to remember that drinking water is produced by our municipalities at great expense and that its distribution depends on infrastructure in dire need of repair. The obsolescence of this infrastructure has been widely discussed in the media recently following incidents and public statements by elected officials. As a result, some measures and solutions are slowly beginning to emerge from the various discussions. Despite these, a significant blind spot remains that could have a major impact on the future of municipal water management.
According to a recent analysis commissioned by the Quebec government , only half of the drinking water produced in Quebec is consumed by the residential sector. This means that the other 50% is used by the non-residential sector—that is, industries, businesses, and institutions—as well as lost to leaks in the distribution network. The question then arises: why do drinking water consumption restrictions during periods of shortage apply primarily, if not exclusively, to the residential sector?
Working to anticipate shortages
For municipalities, asking residents to reduce their home water consumption during periods of shortages or equipment breakdowns is surely the simplest solution: stop watering the lawn, postpone filling the pool, and refrain from washing the car. These actions remain important and can help quickly reduce a municipality’s drinking water demand, but they only address about half of a city’s consumption. It would likely be more difficult to ask a company for which water is an essential ingredient to drastically change its approach on short notice. Or to ask a data center with a water-cooling system to reduce its consumption during a heat wave.
This is why our governments must demonstrate proactive leadership to optimize drinking water consumption in the non-residential sector. By implementing measures to reduce water consumption in this sector at all times, we increase the resilience and robustness of our businesses, our economy, and society as a whole. A fairer distribution of the collective effort to conserve drinking water can only be beneficial.
Where to begin?
It is difficult, if not impossible, to implement measures to reduce water consumption without knowing its extent. For example, municipal data on non-residential sector consumption remains inaccessible to the public. Municipalities are rightly asking Quebec to invest heavily in water infrastructure, but we don’t really know who this infrastructure serves. Disclosing consumption data for each municipality, including volumes and rates charged to industries and businesses connected to their water system, would be a major step toward more equitable management of drinking water, our finances, and consumption restrictions.
With complete and publicly available data, it would be easier to implement fair measures for all sectors. We would also be assured that water-intensive industries pay a fair price for water—that is, the actual cost to the municipality to collect the water, make it potable, transport it to its destination, and treat it after use. On the other hand, it would be unfair to make the public foot the bill for the commercial and industrial sectors—through public funding, volumetric pricing, or other means.
Quebec lags significantly behind the rest of Canada in accounting for municipal water use in the non-residential sector. We hope that the upcoming Quebec Drinking Water Conservation Strategy, expected in December, will propose sufficient measures in this regard.
By applying municipal water consumption restrictions fairly across all sectors of society, everyone will be more receptive to calls for reductions. Let’s all work together to ensure a water supply for future generations.
Rebecca Pétrin,
General Manager
