Heat wave didn’t boost water consumption
Last week’s heat wave didn’t cause a bump in water consumption, to the relief of the city administration.
Although we were told the emergency repairs on the Atwater main would take six weeks, and then eight – stretching to the end of July – this piece hints that they could take till the end of August.
The numbers say we each use 306 litres of water a day, compared to a Canadian average of 220 litres. Suddenly I’m thirsty.
Joey 22:38 on 2026-07-07 Permalink
Looks like this explains the difference: Près du tiers de l’eau potable que Montréal produit ne se rend jamais dans les robinets des Montréalais, en raison du grand nombre de fuites qui gangrènent le réseau.
MarcG 07:35 on 2026-07-08 Permalink
A friend of mine is banned from washing dishes when he visits relatives in Ontario because they’re aghast at the amount of water he uses.
MarcG 09:01 on 2026-07-08 Permalink
And in turn he’s grossed out by how lightly they rinse the soap off the dishes. Financial cost influences behavior, no doubt.
Kate 09:07 on 2026-07-08 Permalink
Joey, at least the leaky pipes are good for the trees.
MarcG, it’s true, I always rinse every last trace of soap. Never thought of this as a cultural tendency before!
steph 16:55 on 2026-07-08 Permalink
I’ve heard Brits argue that leaving the soap on lets the water run off better, and you don’t get streaks. I’m not interested in testing that.
Kevin 12:55 on 2026-07-09 Permalink
The reason to use soap is that it dissolves dirt, bonds to oil, and then connects to water and enables the mess to be removed.
If you’re not rinsing, you’re not cleaning, you’re just smearing the mess around.