Water restrictions vary in West Island towns

WATCH ABOVE: Most cities and towns have water restrictions in place when it comes to watering the lawn, and it seems the ‘pay as you go’ approach is the best deterrent in order to conserve water. Global’s Tim Sargeant reports.

POINTE-CLAIRE — The West Island city of Pointe-Claire is the largest community in the area to not have any water restrictions in place.

Residents can use as much water as they like, whenever they want; however, they’re billed for every drop.

“Having water meters is the best thing for the environment. People pay for what they use and what they use they use wisely,” Morris Trudeau told Global News.

Pointe-Claire bills home owners $0.47/cubic metre regardless of consumption.

Trudeau says the average water bill is approximately $100 and consumption has been dropping consistently for the last five years.

“In Pointe-Claire all water is metered and people govern themselves according to that,” he said.

Residents in neighbouring municipalities are also metered, meaning people pay for water consumed.

In Kirkland, homes are billed between $0.40 to $0.79/cubic metre, depending on the total amount used. The more water used, the more residents will be charged.

But there are water restrictions in place – no sprinklers can be used during the day.

Similar restrictions exist for Beaconsfield and Baie-D’Urfé.

“The most important water restriction we have is a user pay policy where people are charged for the water they consume and that is very effective,” Baie-D’Urfé Mayor Maria Tutino said.

Residents in this town are charged between $0.39 to $0.78/cubic metre, again depending on the quantity used.

Home owners with pools are generally the largest consumers of water.

But now mayors in other West Island cities and towns that don’t have meters are wishing they did – some believe the pay-as-you-go policy is the best deterrent against excessive water consumption and most effective for water conservation.