By municipality
Municipal bylaws on gutters
Where is the water from your roof allowed to go? Every town has its own rule. We read the official texts to sum up what matters, with the source.
The general rule in Quebec
- Never connect a downspout to the foundation drain (weeping tile) or to the sewer: it is prohibited in most municipalities in Quebec.
- Release the water on the surface, onto a permeable area (lawn, flower bed), away from the foundation. Required distances generally range from 1 m to 2 m, and 1.5 m is the most common.
- Don't direct water toward the street, the driveway, the sidewalk or the neighbouring lot (Civil Code of Québec, art. 983).
Why towns get involved: during heavy rain, thousands of gutters connected to drains send a huge volume of water into the sewers all at once. The result: basement backups and overflows into the rivers. Disconnecting a gutter protects your basement… and your neighbour's.
Verified towns
The official bylaws are written in French. The summaries below are our English translation.
| Town | Minimum distance | Foundation drain | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laval | 1 m (construction) / 1.5 m (discharge into the networks) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Mirabel | Not specified | Allowed* | Bylaw |
| Blainville | Not specified | Prohibited | City's guide |
| Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines | More than 2 m (recommendation) | — | Bylaw |
| Deux-Montagnes | 1.5 m | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Saint-Eustache | Not specified | Prohibited | City's guide |
| Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac | 1.5 m | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Saint-Jérôme | 1.5 m from the foundation | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Prévost | 2 m (extension) / 1 m (urban planning) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Saint-Colomban | 1.5 m from the foundation | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Morin-Heights | Not specified | — | Bylaw |
| Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard | Not specified | — | Bylaw |
| Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts | 2 m (extension) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Val-David | 150 cm | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Val-Morin | Not specified | — | Bylaw |
| Mont-Blanc | Not specified | — | City's guide |
| Lac-des-Écorces | 2 m (extension) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Terrebonne | 150 cm (1.5 m) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Mascouche | 150 cm (1.5 m) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Repentigny | 1.5 m or more | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| L'Épiphanie | 150 cm | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Charlemagne | 1.50 m | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Saint-Lin–Laurentides | Not specified | — | Bylaw |
| Chertsey | 2 m (extension) | Prohibited | Bylaw |
| Lavaltrie | Not specified | — | City's guide |
| Gatineau | 2 m (recommendation) | Not recommended | Bylaw |
* Mirabel's construction bylaw allows drainage by infiltration into the weeping tile. We still recommend releasing the water on the surface.
Other municipalities
For the 109 other municipalities we serve, we're still verifying the official text. In the meantime, the general rule above applies in the vast majority of cases. Always confirm with your town's urban planning department before any work.
See the 109 municipalities
Boisbriand · Bois-des-Filion · Lorraine · Rosemère · Sainte-Thérèse · Pointe-Calumet · Saint-Joseph-du-Lac · Oka · Saint-Placide · Saint-Hippolyte · Sainte-Sophie · Saint-Sauveur · Piedmont · Sainte-Adèle · Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs · Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson · Estérel · Lac-des-Seize-Îles · Wentworth-Nord · Mont-Tremblant · Val-des-Lacs · Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides · Lac-Supérieur · Lac-Tremblant-Nord · Labelle · La Conception · La Minerve · La Macaza · Amherst · Arundel · Barkmere · Brébeuf · Huberdeau · Ivry-sur-le-Lac · Lantier · Montcalm · Mont-Laurier · Rivière-Rouge · Ferme-Neuve · Nominingue · Lac-du-Cerf · Lac-Saguay · Lac-Saint-Paul · L'Ascension · Kiamika · Chute-Saint-Philippe · Mont-Saint-Michel · Notre-Dame-de-Pontmain · Notre-Dame-du-Laus · Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles · Sainte-Anne-du-Lac · Lachute · Brownsburg-Chatham · Gore · Grenville · Grenville-sur-la-Rouge · Harrington · Mille-Isles · Wentworth · Saint-André-d'Argenteuil · L'Assomption · Saint-Sulpice · Joliette · Notre-Dame-des-Prairies · Saint-Charles-Borromée · Crabtree · Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes · Saint-Paul · Saint-Pierre · Saint-Thomas · Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare · Sainte-Mélanie · Sainte-Julienne · Saint-Calixte · Saint-Liguori · Saint-Jacques · Saint-Alexis · Saint-Esprit · Saint-Roch-Ouest · Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan · Sainte-Marie-Salomé · Rawdon · Entrelacs · Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci · Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez · Saint-Côme · Saint-Damien · Saint-Donat · Sainte-Émélie-de-l'Énergie · Saint-Félix-de-Valois · Sainte-Béatrix · Sainte-Marcelline-de-Kildare · Saint-Michel-des-Saints · Saint-Jean-de-Matha · Saint-Zénon · Berthierville · La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas · Lanoraie · Mandeville · Saint-Barthélemy · Saint-Cléophas-de-Brandon · Saint-Cuthbert · Saint-Didace · Saint-Gabriel · Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon · Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola · Saint-Norbert · Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier · Sainte-Élisabeth
What we do for you
At every complete maintenance, we note in your report any downspout that seems connected to the drain or empties too close to the foundation. We can then add an extension or modify the downspout to bring you into compliance. Which type of extension to choose?
These summaries are provided for information only and are not legal advice. Only each municipality's official text is authoritative.
Need to bring things up to code?
Extension, downspout modification, disconnection: describe your situation and get a price, with no visit.
