French drain installation, repair and replacement in Brossard
Yes, the City requires one, and its rules changed in May 2025. A technician at your home within 48 hours, free quote.
A drain to redo in Brossard? The City’s rules have changed.
On May 22, 2025, the City amended its Infrastructure By-law (REG-485). Articles 79 to 88, which dealt with the sump pit and the sump pump, were repealed, and those rules are now in articles 58 to 58.7. The City’s “Plan de drainage” leaflet (FE200, dated December 18, 2024, in French) still cites the old articles. To know what applies to your home, you need to read the current by-law (administrative consolidation as of May 22, 2025, in French).
A permit is also required for a French drain (City page, in French). Here is what the City imposes by sector, what the by-law says about the drain, the valve and the gutters, then what the permit requires and costs.
Sectors A, B and P
According to the City, an independent technical opinion showed wear in the sanitary sewer network of sector A and part of sectors B and P, which reached its maximum hydraulic capacity during heavy rain. An interim by-law (REG-486-R-2026, in force since July 16, 2026) prohibits new principal buildings, added dwellings and work that increases discharges into the sanitary sewer there. It does not mention the French drain, and the permit form only offers the storm sewer or a pump as the destination of the new drain.
Flat roofs
The City explains that rainwater ends up in the sanitary sewer because of pipe connections, and that a campaign to disconnect flat roofs will be carried out as a priority. The by-law is clear: a flat roof’s rain leader must drain independently of the foundation drains and must not be interconnected with them or with the sanitary sewer (article 60).
City works in sector A
The City’s page mentions the reconstruction of the infrastructure on Audette, Agnès, Alfred (in part) and Albanie streets (2024-2025 horizon) and a collector along Provencher Boulevard to Taschereau Boulevard (2026 to 2029 horizon, subject to council approval). Confirm with the City what is under way in front of your home before planning an excavation.
Across Brossard
The Infrastructure By-law applies to every building in the city: the French drain fully surrounds the building with its invert level with the underside of the footing (article 78), and no downspout is connected to it (article 77).
Infrastructure By-law (REG-485)
For a new building with a basement, the French drain is connected to a sump pit fitted with a sump pump and a backup pump (article 58). The sump pump is submersible, at least 1/3 HP (article 58.3). The by-law does not say what applies when the drain of an existing house is replaced: the City decides when it reviews the permit application. No backfilling may be done before the City has checked the connections to the main sewer (article 48).
A backwater valve is mandatory on basement connections that receive wastewater (article 64). Downspouts discharge at least 900 mm from the foundation wall (article 73).
Source: administrative consolidation of REG-485 as of May 22, 2025, which has no legal value according to the City: only the original by-law and its amendments are authoritative.
Here is what the City asks for, according to its form no. 30 (version dated July 21, 2026).
The “Réfection des fondations, raccordements” permit application. It asks for the owner’s and the contractor’s details (RBQ or NEQ number, person in charge of the work), the value of the work before taxes and the destination of the new drain: storm sewer or pump.
A power of attorney if you are not the owner, payment of the analysis fee when required, and a detailed quote or estimate of the work. The City can require other documents, at the applicant’s expense. Our RBQ number: 5816-2793-01.
For the residential private network, where the form places the French drain: $51 base plus $3.50 per $1,000 of work, so $103.50 for $15,000. The permit is valid for 3 months.
By email to direction.urbanisme@brossard.ca or in person at city hall, 2001 boulevard de Rome. A public domain occupancy permit ($550, temporary occupancy) or a tree-cutting certificate may be added.
The analysis fee, when required, is non-refundable, payable when you file and deducted from the final fee. The $103.50 example is a calculation from the fee schedule, not a quote.
Sources: the City of Brossard’s pages “Faire une demande de permis pour un drain français” (updated July 21, 2026) and “Travaux de raccordements et réfection des réseaux“, and form no. 30 (all in French), consulted in October 2026. The City’s page does not list the documents, fees or processing times: they come from the form. These are the City’s documents, not Solutions Fondation’s: confirm the fees with the City before you file.
A French drain to have assessed in Brossard?
We work in Brossard. A technician comes to your home within 48 hours, then you receive a free, detailed quote.
Yes. The City’s page on the French drain says a permit is required to ensure the work is compliant, and its page on private networks says a permit is mandatory for any work on these infrastructures. The application is made with form no. 30 (“Réfection des fondations, raccordements”, version dated July 21, 2026), sent by email to direction.urbanisme@brossard.ca or filed at city hall.
The City’s page says “certificat requis” in its header and “permis” in its text, and does not say how long processing takes or exactly what the permit covers. Confirm with the Urban Planning Department (450 923-6311).
According to form no. 30, the French drain is listed under “Réseau privé (aqueduc, égout, drain français)”. For residential use, the fee is a $51 base plus $3.50 for each $1,000 portion of the estimated cost of the work, and the permit is valid for 3 months. For $15,000 of work, that comes to $103.50 (a calculation example, not a quote).
The analysis fee, when required, is non-refundable, payable when you file and deducted from the final fee. A public domain occupancy permit ($550, temporary occupancy) is added if the work crosses public property.
For a new building with a basement, yes: the drain is connected to a sump pit fitted with a sump pump and a backup pump (article 58 of REG-485). The sump pump is submersible, at least 1/3 HP, with a discharge pipe of at least 38 mm, and its discharge can never go onto a driveway, a parking space or directly onto the public road (articles 58.3, 58.4 and 58.6).
For an existing house, the by-law does not say: the form asks whether the new drain connects to the storm sewer or to a pump (single, combined with gravity or other), and the City decides when it reviews the application. The solution chosen depends on your lot and is settled during the visit.
Yes, on horizontal connections that receive wastewater from plumbing fixtures, floor drains, sump pits and other pipes or traps in a basement or cellar (article 64 of REG-485). The City can also require one on storm connections serving outdoor surfaces below the surrounding ground, such as garage ramps, outdoor entrances and French drains (article 65).
It must remain accessible and in good working order (article 69). If the owner neglects to install or maintain it, the City is not liable for damage to the building or its contents (article 70).
A downspout must discharge at ground level, at least 900 mm from the foundation wall, to prevent seepage toward the drain (article 73 of REG-485). Connecting a downspout to the French drain, directly or indirectly, is prohibited (article 77), and a sloped roof over a window well must have a gutter that keeps it from draining into the well (article 74).
Before heavy rain, the City also recommends cleaning gutters, clearing water outlets and checking the sump pump, the backwater valve and the drains (“Fortes pluies” page, in French).
REG-486-R-2026 prohibits, among other things, new principal buildings, added dwellings and construction, renovation or transformation work likely to increase discharges into the local sanitary network (article 5). It does not mention the French drain, and neither the by-law nor the City’s page says that replacing a drain is covered or excluded.
If your home is in the zone (the map is in the by-law’s appendix), have the Urban Planning Department confirm what applies before you sign. The by-law provides fines of $600 to $1,000 for an individual who breaks it.
