MONTREAL - The City of Montreal is ready to tackle a subterranean nightmare that sees an incredible 40 percent of the city's treated water sent out from the filtration plants simply get wasted through cracks in pipes.
The city wants to pour $8.5-billion into network repairs over the next decade, which would mean a hike of nine percent in the water tax rate.
That would translate to around $48 for the average Montreal home.
A city report shows Montreal has an average of 29 water main breaks for every 100 kilometers of pipe, the worst record of any large Canadian city.
The city plans is to install water meters for the biggest users like hospitals, hotels and industry.
The city wants the federal and provincial governments to pitch in for the repairs but have yet to establish any firm commitment from either government.
A previous attempt to organize water meters turned into a fiasco that many consider the darkest moment for the Tremblay administration.
One opposition councillor worries that the same splashy disaster could recur.
"We risk ending up with the same companies that were at the heart of the last contract," said Alex Norris.
