A group of environmental organizations and municipalities is worried that Quebec鈥檚 groundwater reserves are dwindling due to overconsumption and the effects of climate change.聽
In an open letter sent to the environment minister, the 12 municipalities and nine environmental organizations say the province is consuming more groundwater than is being replenished.聽
The municipalities, located along the Saint-Lawrence valley, say Quebec has taken its renewable freshwater for granted and are calling on the government to trigger a province-wide evaluation and increase regulation.聽
鈥淚n Quebec, we have long believed that water was an infinite resource. Gone are the days of rose-tinted glasses,鈥 they wrote in the letter.
Quebec holds three per cent of the world鈥檚 renewable freshwater reserves, but water preservation groups like Eau Secours and Scabric say droughts and urban sprawl are putting pressure on the natural resource.聽
Aquifers 鈥 sediment saturated with freshwater 鈥 are connected to surface bodies of water, says Sabric president Daniel Pilon. While aquifers can store large amounts of water that supply human activity, depletion can cause rivers to dry up, he adds.聽
鈥淚n Quebec, there are lakes everywhere. We鈥檙e rich in water, that鈥檚 true. But now, we鈥檙e going through a period of drought, a time when people are overusing this resource,鈥 Pilon said.
Scabric is a non-profit organization formed in 1993 and mandated to improve water and soil quality in the Ch芒teauguay area鈥檚 drainage basins. Pilon says the organization started recording a strain on groundwater in 2015.
Though Pilon鈥檚 organization is limited in scope, he says other organizations monitoring drainage basins across Quebec reported similar findings.
However, he says it鈥檚 hard to know the extent of the issue and come up with solutions without a government-mandated study across the province handled by the Bureau d鈥檃udiences publiques sur l鈥檈nvironnement.
鈥淲e need to ask ourselves some questions because the situation is getting worse,鈥 said Pilon.聽
He says that those in rural areas in the Mont茅r茅gie region who depend on groundwater for daily consumption are having to dig their wells deeper each year. Some farmers struggle with irrigation, he adds.
Last year, the town of Sutton, Que. had crates of water shipped in because it feared a water shortage.
Pilon says increasingly hot summers and reduced rainfall are part of the problem. While some fluctuation is expected every year, the trend is worrying, he says.
According to the 好色tv Climate Institute, climate change has made droughts more frequent and severe world-wide, making it harder to replenish natural water reserves.
Eau Secours president R茅becca P茅trin says there has also been a shift in how land is managed due to urban sprawl, which contributes to the problem. She says agricultural land has been drained and large areas have been made 鈥渨aterproof,鈥 meaning that rainwater is quickly channeled to a drainage system and into rivers.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e draining our water away; we鈥檙e not retaining it. So, we鈥檙e seeing droughts occur much more quickly because the land hasn鈥檛 been able to absorb the water,鈥 says P茅trin. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 retain the water, we don鈥檛 give it a chance to seep into the ground and eventually replenish the groundwater (that many people rely on).鈥
P茅trin and Pilon say that while there are some easy solutions 鈥 increasing sponge parks, marshes and retention basins, and banning lawn sprinklers 鈥 large-scale changes can only be implemented through government intervention.聽
Environment Minister Pascale D茅ry told journalists on Monday that a shortage of groundwater is 鈥渃oncerning,鈥 but said there are measures in place to protect water already.聽
鈥淒o we need to go further? Maybe, I think we need to have that discussion,鈥 she said.聽
D茅ry said she would talk to her colleagues to see if the province-wide evaluation is the best tool before moving forward.
This report by 好色tvwas first published June 8, 2026.
