Water supply systems in Quebec were on a rejuvenating trend in the 1980s when they reached their all-time low age of 12.2 years in 1986. Shortly thereafter, a long-term steady trend to more moderate investments in this type of assets has caused the average age of water supply systems to climb to 18.5 years in 2007, the oldest in the country.
From 2001 to 2007, the average annual rate of increase in this asset's gross stock was 2.0% compared to 5.1% nationally, the lowest among all provinces. It represented 12% of all public assets in the province in 2007, the second most important investment. As a percentage of estimated useful life, Quebec rate was in line with the national average back in 1999 at 46%. In 2007, the Quebec rate was 50% compared to 40% nationally, a gap of 10 percentage points.