After having experienced its worst assessment in 2024, the City of Montreal postponed its objective of replacing all lead entries from 2032 to 2040. And during this time, the invoice of citizens continues to increase.
When the city came to change its lead water entrance last year, José Carvalho, an owner of the Côte-des-Neiges district, did not expect to receive such a salty bill.
“It cost me almost $ 11,000, I found it expensive,” said the resident on rue Clanranald for almost 40 years.
Mr. Carvalho received the third highest invoice in the whole city in 2025 for such work, according to data obtained by The newspaper.
It billed $ 1286 per meter for him for 7 meters of pipe to change, as well as administrative costs of 15%.
50% increase
Another resident on the same street, Peter, received an invoice of more than $ 8,000.
“The city, they will charge you what they want. They have no competition, ”he deplores. “I expected $ 5,000, no more.”
And this is what could have happened if the work had been carried out four years ago.
Indeed, in 2021, the owners who had their lead water entry replaced by the city paid much cheaper, or $ 863 per meter.
The city is struggling to explain this increase of almost 50% of costs in four years.
“An analysis is underway to understand the reasons for increasing costs beyond inflation,” said a report published in late June.
The city spokesman Hugo Bourgoin says that strategies have been put in place to try to slow down this increase, including the “revision of technical documents” and the publication of calls for tenders “spread over a greater period of the year”.
Delays
In 2019, the City of Montreal embarked on a vast operation aimed at replacing all lead water entries from its territory, following a survey published by The duty.
Since then, the city has never achieved its objective of replacing 5000 admissions per year. In 2024, she also experienced her worst assessment with only 1839 replacements.
“We planned less in 2024, because in 2023 the costs were so high,” defended the president of the Executive Committee, Émilie Thuillier, to the municipal council of June.
The city announced in the process that the annual objective would be lowered from 5000 to 4000 admissions, a target that has not been more achieved since 2020.
“Despite this desired target, the programming must necessarily adjust to the city’s investment capacity. Thus, it is likely that the average objective cannot be achieved in 2026, ”admits spokesperson Hugo Bourgoin.
The deadline to replace all lead water inputs was thus pushed from 2032 to 2040.
Since the costs are constantly climbing, this delay has nothing to reassure the owners who will have to change their water entrance in the coming years.
Each passing year increases $ 420 on average the invoice of each owner, calculated The newspaper From the data provided by the City.
In collaboration with Charles Mathieu.
By the city or to the private
Since 2019, all Montreal owners who have a lead water input on their land must absolutely change it in order to ensure water quality.
They have the choice to hire an entrepreneur themselves, or they can let the city take care of the work, when it comes to replace the part of the pipe under the sidewalk and the street.
If they choose the second option, the amount of work, calculated by the meter, is billed at their land tax account.
“This approach allows citizens to benefit from several advantages,” says Hugo Bourgoin, city spokesperson.
He cites in particular the possibility of paying the invoice in 15 years, with interest, in the tax account, as well as the realization of “turnkey work”.
