Montreal urged to keep cutting water use as aqueduct repairs extend through summer

Montreal's emergency repairs to the Atwater aqueduct remain on schedule and will continue until the end of summer, the city says, while urging more than one million residents to keep reducing their water consumption.

The aging pipe beneath Atwater Avenue is one of four major conduits feeding one of the city's largest drinking water reservoirs on McTavish Road. It supplies drinking water to 1.3 million people across 16 Montreal boroughs and several neighbouring municipalities. Inspections earlier in the season found urgent repairs were needed to prevent the pipe from failing. A city spokesperson said construction is progressing as planned, though a concrete deadline wasn't provided. The timeline includes an additional two-week period to ensure water circulates properly through the network before the project is considered complete.

The water-saving campaign, launched in May, asked residents to help cut the city's daily water consumption by 100 million litres — about seven per cent of Montreal's average day-to-day use. Alan Desousa, Montreal's executive committee member for infrastructure and mobility, described the measure as "the largest water mobilization we've ever seen."

With the possibility of more heat waves later this summer, the city emphasized it is especially important for residents to continue conserving water to reduce pressure on the drinking water system. To reduce demand, Montreal has suspended continuous pipe flushing, preventive sewer cleaning, certain street washing activities, and decorative fountains. City officials have previously warned that if voluntary conservation measures are not enough, additional restrictions — including a complete watering ban — could still be introduced if necessary.

Residents are still being asked to limit lawn watering, avoid unnecessary outdoor water use, and adopt everyday water-saving habits while repairs continue.