Unearthing Montreal's Municipal Water System: Amalgamating and Harmonizing Urban Water Services

In December 2000, the National Assembly of Quebec adopted numerous bills that would lead to a reconfiguration of the municipal territorial organization. The amalgamation process modifies long-standing patterns of urban governance. Within the metropolitan region, Montreal's municipal water system has been directly affected by the changes. For the first time in its 200 year-old history, the entire municipal drinking water and sanitation infrastructure is brought under a single municipal administration: the new City of Montreal now comprising the 28 cities that used to exist on the island. This paper looks upon the operational, financial and environmental aspects of drinking water delivery that have been modified following the amalgamation.