Québec (Qc.), March 19, 2026—Ahead of World Water Day, several partners gathered at the Salon des technologies environnementales 2026 to highlight the importance of responsible water management and to position Québec at the forefront of freshwater stewardship.
In this spirit, X-TELIA, in collaboration with AquaAction, today unveiled the Aqua Citoyen Portal, an innovative platform that allows Québecers to measure, understand, and reduce their drinking water consumption. This tool aims to mobilize citizens around a priority issue: water overconsumption.
With an objective of large‑scale deployment, the Aqua Citoyen Portal represents a key tool for better tracking water demand and optimizing resource management. This solution would help accelerate the adoption of a more integrated and modern approach to water management, for the benefit of communities.
Water is not infinite
Québec consumes an average of 276 litres of water per person per day, well above the global average. To date, only 14% of Québec connections are equipped with a water meter, compared to 63% across Canada.
Although water may seem abundant in Québec, it is not infinite. Its collection, treatment, and distribution rely on an impressive network of infrastructure: more than 100,000 km of pipes and facilities that must be continuously maintained, modernized, and repaired. Behind every litre used lies a real cost, far greater than what is currently recovered.
This reality becomes even more striking when one realizes that a leak as subtle as one drop per second can waste nearly 20,000 litres of water per year. The conclusion is clear: water has real value. Better measuring and understanding it is an essential step toward protecting it and ensuring the long-term sustainability of our infrastructure.
Aqua Citoyen Portal: Moving from Awareness to Action
The new platform offers real-time visualization allowing citizens to precisely track their water consumption, and provides concrete tools including personalized recommendations for reducing water use effectively. Through an intelligent comparison system, users can benchmark their consumption against the municipal average, local targets, and Canadian and international benchmarks.
According to a study published in the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management (ASCE), the adoption of smart meters could reduce residential water consumption by up to 28.6%.
Its launch comes at a time when cities and their residents are being called upon to rethink their relationship with water; whether to better cope with climate change, adapt infrastructure to today's realities, or encourage everyone to play a more active role in protecting this vital resource. Several municipalities across the province are already showing interest in this new tool, including the City of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, which has expressed interest in the platform's potential for citizen engagement and improved water consumption practices.
With this new portal, Québec gains a strategic tool to better protect its most precious resource. By emphasizing transparency, innovation, and citizen participation, X-TELIA is laying out the foundation for water management that is more sustainable, more resilient, and forward-looking.
Quotes
"What you don't measure, you can't manage. The Aqua Citoyen Portal gives Québecers clear, accessible, and useful data to understand their water consumption and take concrete action. It's a tool that puts the citizen at the heart of the solution."
— Éric Bourbeau, President and CEO, X-TELIA
"We often forget everything it takes to get water to our taps. With the Aqua Citoyen Portal, we can help people understand the true value of this resource and show that small actions can really make a difference. When everyone sees the concrete impact of their consumption, we collectively become more responsible and better equipped to protect our water. Every drop, and every action, counts."
— Soula Chronopoulos, President, AquaAction
"Understanding and becoming aware of one's consumption habits is the first step toward implementing behavioral changes in daily life. In that sense, deploying tools that support citizens in their efforts can only be beneficial in collectively moving toward a reduction in our overuse of water resources. It is in solutions like these that we see the full potential of innovation to actively advance environmental priorities for Québec."
— Mathieu Laneuville, President and CEO, Réseau Environnement
About X-TELIA
X-TELIA is a Québec-based technology company specializing in telemetry and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions applied to water management. The company develops world-class data infrastructure and platforms that enable municipalities and organizations to monitor water consumption in real time, rapidly detect leaks, and improve the efficiency of their networks.
By connecting water meters, municipal infrastructure, and citizens to modern digital tools, X-TELIA contributes to smarter and more sustainable water management.
Learn more: www.x-telia.com
About AquaAction
At AquaAction, we develop leaders to protect and restore our most vital resource: freshwater. We empower people, from young innovators to community advocates, to protect and restore freshwater through innovation, advocacy, and conservation. By supporting entrepreneurship, advancing education and awareness, and driving policy change, we help communities build resilience and ensure access to clean water for generations to come. Our mission is simple yet profound: a generation of leaders safeguarding freshwater for the health of people and the planet.
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