Between now and the end of the year, almost 125 water meters will be installed in Pincourt. Launched on July 4, the pilot project aims to obtain more reliable data on the actual consumption of drinking water on the Town's territory.

The Town has appealed to its citizens to take part in the initiative by agreeing to the installation of a water meter in their homes. The news quickly sparked a flurry of comments on social networks.

While some were quite supportive, others were a little less so. That said, Vicky Sauvé, Director of Communications for the Town of Pincourt, was keen to reassure the public: "the Town has no plans to force homes to install a water meter and bill for the resource in the future," she told Néomédia.

Other towns in Vaudreuil-Soulanges are also considering the idea of installing water meters in residences on their territory. These include Saint-Lazare and Vaudreuil-Dorion.

"Installing water meters is one of the measures put forward by the municipality to meet the government's requirements under the Quebec Strategy for Drinking Water Conservation, which aims to reduce average drinking water consumption by 20%. Under this strategy, all financial assistance will be conditional on municipalities adopting measures to save water and reduce leakage from the distribution network," explains Vicky Sauvé.

Starting this fall, visits will be made to residents who have expressed an interest in the pilot project. These visits will validate the compliance of participating residences. Installations will continue until spring 2024.

In all, the project represents an investment of nearly $190,000.

"Participation in the project is free of charge for volunteer homeowners. The cost of purchasing and installing the water meters will be borne by the city, which will be responsible for installing and monitoring the water meter and telecommunications antenna. The budgeted price for the installation, which includes a preparatory visit, the meter, the antenna and the installation itself, is approximately $1,500," says the Communications Director.

"Under the right conditions, when there is sufficient working space and no basement modifications to make, installation takes around thirty minutes. Based on the experience of other cities, this is the case for 75% of residential water meter installations. The working space required for water meter installation is about 60 centimetres high by 30 centimetres wide," adds Ms Sauvé.

The city estimates that, in combination with the meters already installed in institutions, businesses and industries, the 125 or so residential meters will enable it to detect leaks and sources of waste on its territory much more quickly.

According to Vicky Sauvé, the water consumption analysis will be carried out up to the end of 2024, as stipulated in the present horizon of the Quebec strategy for saving drinking water. "However, the horizon could be revised following the publication of a new horizon for the Strategy," she concludes.

Are you interested in this project? Would you like to have a water meter at your home?

If so, please contact the Public Works and Infrastructures Department by e-mail at [email protected] for full details.