The city of Saint-Lazare’s municipal water networks as well as a ban on all outdoor water use for an indefinite length of time. Announced on their website on May 20, 2021. The ban is effective immediately.
Ban on the watering of lawns and other outdoor use of potable water
For an indefinite period
The Mayor has decreed a ban on the use of any mechanical and automatic sprinkler system for watering lawns with treated water from any of Saint-Lazare’s municipal water networks as well as a ban on the complete filling of pools. This ban remains in effect for an undetermined period of time. What does this mean in concrete terms?
Any programmed mechanical or automatic sprinkler system must be immediately deactivated
No washing of vehicles, walls and windows of a building, or driveways
No new permits will be issued for:
Watering new vegetation (lawn, seedlings, landscaping, etc.)
The complete filling of a pool. Residents installing a pool during the ban must call a private tanker truck service to have water delivered (at their expense)
A car wash fundraiser
To be noted:
Watering and pool filling permits issued before Thursday, May 20, 2021 will be honored. Holders of a valid permit must fully respect the conditions of the latter and ensure that the permit is visible from the road
Watering by hand with a hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle held by hand at all times is permitted to water existing vegetation, for example vegetable gardens and flowers (all lawn watering is prohibited)
Watering systems that draw their water from a private well or a natural water source (lake, creek, etc.) are not affected by the ban, however owners are encouraged to contribute to the collective effort to protect our vulnerable aquifers
According to the city, this ban is due to a combination of factors, including specifically:
A high number of residents who use drinking water excessively and who:
Water at any time of the day, which is prohibited
Do not respect their watering days according to their address
Have not reprogrammed their automatic system at 4 am
Drain and fill their pool completely in spring
Inability to refill municipal water reserves at the rate they are emptied
Lack of precipitation both now and last winter to replenish water tables sufficiently
"We therefore urge all residents, even private well owners (since we all share the same water table), to stop unnecessary watering and to comply with the current watering by-law summarized here."
Any lifting of the ban will be announced in the city website, on social media and the city newsletter.
