Water management

• To reduce our collective costs, because collecting and treating wastewater represents a significant expense for a municipality.
• To reduce water pollution, because sustainable surface-water runoff management practices will help limit the quantity of untreated wastewater discharged into the St. Lawrence Seaway during major storms.

By using rainwater to water your lawn and flowerbeds, you can save thousands of litres of water annually and you will be using water that has undergone no chemical treatment. You will need rain barrels to do so. There are several models for sale on the market, some with as much as a 200-litre capacity. Equipped with a debris filter, these barrels collect clean water that is ideal for watering your plants, flowers, and vegetables. You can also use this water for other outdoor work such as washing your car.

The Ville de Saint-Lambert asks you to camouflage your rain barrels behind a shrub, trellis, or some other feature on your property so that they are not visible from the street. Make sure you place your barrel on a stable raised surface because water flows by gravity. For more efficient filling, you can connect it directly to the downspout connected to your gutter or place it in an area where there is ample rainwater (i.e. not under trees).

Sale of rainwater barrels
Once a year, at the same time as the tree sale, the Ville de Saint-Lambert offers residents the chance to buy rainwater recovery barrels for only $30. Generally, you have to reserve your barrels at the beginning of March. Keep your eyes out for the announcement of the sale in the News page to take advantage of this great offer.

In Québec, standard toilets currently consume up to 40% of the potable water used in residential activities. A standard toilet uses from 12 to 20 litres of water each time you flush, compared to 6 litres for a low-flow toilet.

To ensure the reduction in potable water use on its territory, the Ville de Saint-Lambert is offering local households financial aid of $75 for the replacement of a standard toilet by a low-flow toilet.

Water-saving devices can help you reduce your daily water use. Some showerheads and faucet aerators, for example, restrict water output to 5.7 L/min, which is up to 40% less than standard products. And because they don’t lower the pressure, you won’t feel any difference.

The Ville de Saint-Lambert offers water conservation kits at reduced prices. The products offered in the kits are easy to install and use.

The Ville de Saint-Lambert is proud to announce its association with the Groupe de recommandations et d’actions pour un meilleur environnement (GRAME) as part of the For a cleaner river project. The project is financially supported by RECYC-QUÉBEC, which seeks to promote a reduction in the use and disposal of single-use plastics. This collaborative initiative will see the installation of washing machine microfibre filters in many homes in our city.

To reduce the quantity of microfibres released into the environment, filters have been developed for citizens to install directly in their washing machines. The filters capture at least 87% of the plastic microfibres that detach from synthetic clothing when it is washed. These microfibres, which not all our water treatment plants can remove, unfortunately end up in the St. Lawrence River and ultimately in the food chain.

To obtain a filter

GRAME, in collaboration with the participating municipalities and RECYC-QUÉBEC, offers a grant for the purchase of a plastic microfibre filter. Residents only have to pay the taxes. For more information or to obtain your filter, visit www.grame.org/microfibres.

For watering by-laws, visit the Lawn section on the Trees and Green Spaces page.

Since 2013, the installation of any air-conditioning or refrigeration systems that use potable water has been prohibited in Saint-Lambert.

From now on, any such system installed before this by-law came into force must be either replaced by one that does not use potable water or taken out.

Water tower

A water tower may be used, provided that it is the only equipment that can, technically speaking, transfer the heat generated by a water-based process into the atmosphere and that the maximum volume of potable water used does not exceed 6.4 litres per hour per rated kilowatt of refrigeration or air-conditioning output.

Hosing down parking areas, sidewalks, driveways, and all public roads with potable water is forbidden at all times.

The complete filling of a swimming pool is authorized once a year. Topping up a pool to maintain the water level is permitted at any time. The daily filling of wading or paddling pools with a maximum capacity of 600 litres is permitted at any time.

In Saint-Lambert, potable water consumption by factories, businesses, and institutions is metered. Each building in these categories is required to have a water meter. The water meters are provided and installed by the City. For more information, contact the Environment Management division at 450 466-3199.

In accordance with the requirements of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, every year the Ville de Saint-Lambert produces its bilan annuel de la qualité de l’eau. These assessments confirm that the municipality’s water meets all the requirements and standards in force. Residents can thus use the water with total peace of mind.

To learn more, visit the section on the Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water (RQDW) on the Ministère’s website.

Among the contaminants monitored, lead and copper require a particular analysis process. The Ville de Saint-Lambert is therefore conducting sampling campaigns to detect and replace lead pipes throughout its territory in accordance with section 14.1 of the RQDW.

This campaign stems from the fact that lead is a recognized contaminant with harmful effects on human health. Since the 1980s, even small concentrations of lead have been found to affect the nervous system, the unborn children of pregnant women, and the intellectual development of newborns and children under six years of age.

While studies have not established a clear limit value for lead exposure, during the 2000s, the maximum permissible concentration was set at 10 μg/L. This was amended to 5 μg/L in the RQDW in March 2021. (1.;2.)

Homes built between 1940 and 1975 are those with the highest levels of these elements. These contaminants generally come from the piping and accessories used.

An annual water sample is taken from 40 Saint-Lambert addresses each year to detect any exceedances of the limit values permitted for lead and copper. If your home falls into the annual sampling batch, the city will send you a letter informing you of the results obtained.

If you have any questions, please contact eau@saint-lambert.ca.