Municipal Water Pricing

Canadians are major users of water: we consume twice as much per person when compared to other industrialized countries, with the exception of the U.S. To put numbers to this statement, the average Canadian served by a municipal water system used 326 litres/day in 1996 compared to 128, 130, and 149 litres/day in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, respectively.

By 1999 this had risen to 343 L per person per day. Total Canadian household water consumption is estimated to be at least 7.9 billion litres per day, enough to fill 91,000 rail tank cars.

This information was gleaned from the Municipal Water Use and Pricing Survey which has been conducted every two to three years since 1983. These surveys gather information from over 1,200 municipalities from across Canada on water use and pricing, and are used by governments at all levels to manage water resources, and by universities for research.

Latest Report on Water Pricing

A detailed report on municipal water pricing has been released, based on the pricing data collected in the 1999 survey and data from the previous three surveys.

Municipal Water Pricing 1991 - 1999 (Summary)

To obtain a full report of the Municipal Water Pricing 1991-1999, write a short request for a version of the report, and arrangements will be made to mail one to you.

Database on Municipal Water Pricing

The Municipal Water Pricing database was developed from the municipal water survey. The database is designed to provide easy access to municipal data on water and wastewater pricing from over 1,200 Canadian municipalities. These municipalities have populations of at least 1000.

Database Description on 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999 (final versions) Municipal Water Pricing

To obtain a copy of the database, write a short request for a version of the database, and arrangements will be made to mail one to you.

Full Survey Response Data Link

Obtain access to complete municipal survey results, including water use and treatment data.

Contact: Michel Villeneuve