Montreal invests $235M to improve drinking water network in Lachine, Dorval

The City of Montreal said Tuesdayit will invest $235 million to improve the drinking water network on the western part of the island of Montreal.

The plan is to close water filtration plants in Dorval and Lachineand connect the water network in those communities to larger plants in Pointe-Claire and LaSalle.

Of the six filtration plants in use on the island, thetwo in Dorval and Lachine are the smallest and the least efficient.

"We want to first reduce the average cost of producing fresh water in Montrealbut also increase the water flexibility to those two sections of the island," said Coun. SylvainOuellet, the executive committee member in charge of water infrastructure.

The project is expected to take 10years to complete but will eventually save the city $5 million annually.

The plants in Dorval and Lachinewill continue to operate in the interim, while the city builds 23 kilometres of new water pipes to connect Lachine's network to the LaSalle plant and Dorval's network to the larger plant in Pointe-Claire.

Once the new pipes are built, the plants in Lachine and Dorval will close for good.

Ouellet says the work won't have any effect on the supply or quality of the water, in the meantime.

Necessary decision, expert says

The city's water infrastructure including reservoirs, water mains and treatment plants "urgently needsmajor investments," according toMontreal's 2018 budget documents.

Mayor Valrie Plante's decision to put more money into that infrastructurewas a necessary one, according toSarahDorner, who holdsthe Canada Research Chair in source water protection.

For years, she said, the state of the crumbling pipes waslargely ignored.

Thelooming construction costs have resulted inan increase inthe water tax, which in turn contributed to a much-criticizedaverage 3.3 per cent jump in the tax rate for homeowners.

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