Skip to content.

Coming into force of the Regulation respecting the charges payable for the use of water

As of January 1, 2011, the use of water in Québec for manufacturing activities is subject to provincial charges, whether the water comes from the distribution system or is taken directly from surface water or groundwater.

Established under the Regulation respecting the charges payable for the use of water (the "Regulation"), these charges apply to the manufacturing activities listed below if the average volume of water used is 75 cubic metres or more per day. The Regulation sets the charges at a rate of $0.0025 per cubic metre for water used for the following activities:

  1. mining and quarrying;
  2. food manufacturing;
  3. tobacco product manufacturing;
  4. textile mills;
  5. textile product mills;
  6. clothing manufacturing;
  7. leather and allied product manufacturing;
  8. wood product manufacturing;
  9. paper manufacturing;
  10. printing and related support activities;
  11. petroleum and coal product manufacturing;
  12. chemical manufacturing, except for NAICS Codes 3253 and 32518 when water is incorporated into the product;
  13. plastics and rubber products manufacturing;
  14. non-metallic mineral product manufacturing, when water is not incorporated into the product;
  15. primary metal manufacturing;
  16. fabricated metal product manufacturing;
  17. machinery manufacturing;
  18. computer and electronic product manufacturing;
  19. electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing;
  20. transportation equipment manufacturing;
  21. furniture and related-product manufacturing; and
  22. miscellaneous manufacturing (NAICS Code 339).

The Regulation provides for charges 28 times higher, at $0.07 per cubic metre, if water is used for the following activities:

  1. production of water in bottles or other containers, whether the water is intended for human consumption or not;
  2. beverage manufacturing;
  3. non-metallic mineral product manufacturing, when water in incorporated into the product;
  4. pesticide, fertilizer and other agricultural chemical manufacturing (NAICS Code 3253), when water is incorporated into the product;
  5. other basic inorganic chemical manufacturing (NAICS 32518), when water is incorporated into the product; and
  6. oil and gas extraction.

The rate of the charges will be indexed annually according to the Québec consumer price index.

The industries subject to these charges will have to annually disclose certain information to the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, including the volume of water used during the previous year. This volume must be determined on the basis of estimates or by using measuring equipment that meets the requirements of the Regulation respecting the declaration of water withdrawals.

The annual declaration of water withdrawals and payment of the charges for water used in 2011 must be sent before March 31, 2012, or within 60 days of the cessation of the use of water in 2011.

The Regulation is available on the Ministry’s website at: http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/eau/redevance/reglement-en.pdf

For additional information, do not hesitate to contact McCarthy Tétrault’s Environmental Law Team.

Authors