Quebec City Water Restrictions 2026
Published: May 4, 2026
Ville de Québec (Communauté métropolitaine de Québec) · Quebec
Restrictions Active - Annual Outdoor Watering By-Law (R.V.Q. 2660)
3
Days/Week
8:00 PM – 11:00 PM (sprinklers)
Allowed Hours
$100 minimum (residential first offence) — higher for commercial and repeat offences under R.V.Q. 2660
Fine
Current restrictions
Ville de Québec's outdoor watering rules under règlement R.V.Q. 2660 (Règlement sur l'utilisation extérieure de l'eau provenant de l'aqueduc) limit automatic and oscillating sprinklers to the 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM window on assigned days from May 1 through September 1. Hand-held hoses fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle, watering cans, and rain-barrel water are permitted any time. Borough-level details may vary — verify your district before setting a controller.
What is still allowed
💧 Hand watering
Any time, any day with a hand-held hose fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle, or with a watering can / bucket / rain barrel. Hand watering of vegetable gardens, trees, shrubs, and flowers is unrestricted.
🌿 Drip irrigation & soaker hoses
Permitted any time. Drip is exempt from sprinkler hour windows.
🥬 Vegetable gardens
Watering vegetable gardens by hand or drip is permitted at any time, even during the strictest stages.
🪣 Rain barrels
Rainwater collected on your own property is unrestricted and may be used at any time for any purpose.
Fines & enforcement
$100 minimum (residential first offence) — higher for commercial and repeat offences under R.V.Q. 2660
Ville de Québec sets minimum penalties under R.V.Q. 2660 starting at $100 for residential first offences. Repeat offences and commercial-property infractions attract higher amounts, with the upper range set in the city's general penalty schedule. Bylaw inspectors patrol residential streets during the May–September period and respond to complaints submitted via 3-1-1 (Service 311).
Effective: May 1 – September 1 (annual)🏠 HOA / condo rules
Quebec syndicates of co-ownership (syndicats de copropriété) cannot impose landscape rules that conflict with municipal by-laws. A syndicate rule requiring lawn watering outside Quebec City's assigned-day schedule is unenforceable under article 1063 of the Civil Code of Quebec. Keep a copy of R.V.Q. 2660 to share with your syndicate council if you receive a complaint.
Why these restrictions exist in Quebec City
Quebec City's outdoor watering by-law (R.V.Q. 2660) is a permanent demand-management regulation rather than a drought response. The principal drinking water source is the Saint-Charles River system, drawn from Lac Saint-Charles via the Loretteville treatment plant; secondary sources include the Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence) River through the Sainte-Foy plant. Supply is essentially unlimited, but treatment-plant capacity and distribution-system pressure during peak summer demand are the constraints that drive the schedule. Quebec's province-wide demand-side framework — the Stratégie québécoise d'économie d'eau potable, administered by the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) — sets per-capita reduction targets that municipalities meet partly through outdoor watering by-laws. Quebec City's per-capita consumption has trended down over the past decade but remains above the provincial target, so the seasonal schedule applies even in wet years. Quebec City does not currently operate a multi-stage drought escalation framework comparable to Metro Vancouver or Calgary. If watershed conditions ever required emergency restrictions (which has not happened in modern record), the city would activate temporary mesures spéciales under its general public-health and emergency by-laws.
How to keep your Quebec City lawn alive
9 tips for Quebec City homeowners.
Even-numbered addresses water Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; odd-numbered addresses water Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays — only between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM with automatic sprinklers.
Hand watering with a shut-off nozzle is unrestricted any day, any time — use it for vegetable gardens, trees, and flower beds outside the sprinkler window.
Mow at 75–90 mm during summer — Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue (the dominant Quebec City lawn grasses) tolerate the 3-day schedule well at this height.
Skip irrigation entirely after any 10 mm+ rainfall — Quebec City averages roughly 100 mm of rain in May, June, and July, which often eliminates the need for sprinklers altogether.
Apply for a new-sod or new-seed permit through ville.quebec.qc.ca before installing — establishment watering is otherwise restricted to the assigned-day schedule.
Install a rain barrel on a downspout — captured rainwater (eau de pluie récupérée) is unrestricted and ideal for vegetables, raised beds, and ornamentals.
Apply 50–75 mm of mulch (paillis) around shrub beds and tree wells to retain moisture; mulched beds need a fraction of the water bare soil does.
Quebec syndicats de copropriété cannot fine residents for brown lawns during active municipal restrictions — keep a copy of R.V.Q. 2660 if your syndicate raises a complaint.
Verify your borough's specific rules at ville.quebec.qc.ca — the citywide schedule is the baseline but boroughs can apply stricter local rules.
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