Earl Bales Pond Stormwater Management Facility and Water Supply System
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Earl Bales Pond Stormwater Management Facility and Water Supply System Submission for the 2012 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS Award category: WATER RESOURCES Submitting firm: MMM GROUP LIMITED Project Highlights Project Highlights EARL BALES POND 1 Earl Bales Pond Summary The Earl Bales Park Stormwater Management This project fosters behavioural and attitude change Facility and Water Supply System is the first in a by providing a demonstrable and scalable rainwater series of City of Toronto projects aimed at tackling harvesting system to illustrate the environmental the long-running human and environmental health benefits of alternative water sourcing for public uses, problem of uncontrolled and untreated stormwater such as golf course irrigation and snow-making; and runoff from historic development areas. The design implementing many public amenities such as pond team took a comprehensive and innovative approach interior walkways and aesthetic retaining walls and to addressing non-point water quality impacts for a observation platforms to create an urban oasis for the large urban area that will serve as a landmark for community. excellence for upcoming stormwater management projects. The project is designed to remove particulate matter such as Total Suspended Solids and related absorbed MMM designed and implemented a fully detailed plan excess nutrients from raw stormwater discharges by for the construction and commissioning of one of the settling, enhancing overall water quality of flow by largest stormwater retrofit pond facilities in an urban displacing these pollutants from the Don River. The setting in North America. The largest such project in pond collects this flow via runoff from the approximate Ontario to date, the pond will provide a significant area encompassed by a 550 ha area from reduction in sediment, bacterial, and excess nutrient approximately Downsview Airport to Bathurst Street, loadings to the Don River, and eventually to Lake and Steeles Avenue to the 401 in the City of Toronto. Ontario, enhancing fish habitat, and reducing the This facility provides a measurable reduction in taking of river water for human purposes. sediment, bacterial and excess nutrient loadings to the Don River and eventually to Lake Ontario, enhancing Various original and innovative aspects of the project fish habitat and reducing the taking of river water for make it unique; in fact, less than 1% of similar ponds human purposes. In addition, the pond will provide 45 incorporate one or more of these features and focus million litres of treated stormwater to replace the Don on the stewardship and treatment of historic pollution River as a water source for irrigation and snow-making sources. EARL BALES POND Earl Bales Pond cont’d Summary in the nearby Don Valley Golf Course and Earl Bales Over time, the project will build up a significant set of Park ski hill, respectively. This feature allows for less data on pond performance from the included sampling overall disruption to the Don River by removing the huts at the inlet and outlet areas. The data collected will water intakes. include information on Total Suspended Solids removal, E. coli dieoff, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, etc. TThe design team held three Public Information Centres to involve local residents and the interested public in Community benefits extending from the project include the proposed design. Additional site walks were held an accessible, open-water-based park amenity in with focused community groups and environmentally an underutilized corner of Earl Bales Park, a golf- oriented non-governmental organizations at the course-based water feature and reliable alternative planning stages to explain the project intent and water supplies for non-potable public uses. Other facilitate wide public acceptance. Numerous written benefits include local improvements to public spaces comments from the public in support of the project by reducing erosive damage in adjacent ravines were received as a result of this process. Public used as hiking trails and urban wildlife habitat. suggestions were also incorporated into the final plan, Economic benefits include reduced expenditures on such as the idea to expand the pond further into the future maintenance activities for ravine, watercourse golf course to achieve the required pond volume. and ultimately, Lake Ontario restoration by removing the source of the damaging events. These Furthermore, the pond is designed as an outdoor public features also foster an attitude shift toward laboratory to provide feedback on pond water quality positive environmental stewardship by integrating improvement performance, flow rates and benefits of environmental improvement into daily activities in large-scale rainwater harvesting. These features will public spaces. Interpretive signing to be positioned at extend the science of water quality improvements to strategic locations will expand on these themes for the other needed areas. casual user or visitor. 2012 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS Full Project Description Full Project Description EARL BALES POND 1 Earl Bales Pond Overview The Earl Bales Park Stormwater Management Various original and innovative aspects of the project Facility and Water Supply System is the first in a make it unique; in fact, less than 1% of similar ponds series of City of Toronto projects aimed at tackling incorporate one or more of these features and focus the long-running human and environmental health on the stewardship and treatment of historic pollution problem of uncontrolled and untreated stormwater sources. runoff from historic development areas. The design team took a comprehensive and innovative approach This project fosters behavioural and attitude change to addressing non-point water quality impacts for a by providing a demonstrable and scalable rainwater large urban area that will serve as a landmark for harvesting system to illustrate the environmental excellence for upcoming stormwater management benefits of alternative water sourcing for public uses, projects. such as golf course irrigation and snow-making; and implementing many public amenities such as pond MMM designed and implemented a fully detailed plan interior walkways and aesthetic retaining walls and for the construction and commissioning of one of the observation platforms to create an urban oasis for the largest stormwater retrofit pond facilities in an urban community. setting in North America. The largest such project in Ontario to date, the pond will provide a significant The pond essentially takes a resource previously reduction in sediment, bacterial, and excess nutrient considered a waste product to be disposed of, captures loadings to the Don River, and eventually to Lake it, treats it, and makes it available for beneficial Ontario, enhancing fish habitat, and reducing the human uses. taking of river water for human purposes. EARL BALES POND 1 MMM designed and implemented a fully detailed plan for the construction and commissioning of one of the largest stormwater retrofit pond facilities in an urban setting in North America. 2 2012 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS Goals and Achievements Objective Solution Achievement Water Quality Improvement Stormwater treatment pond Enhanced level water quality improvement of with an associated previously untreated storm sewer discharges permanent pool that were a major source of sediment and excess nutrients in the Don River Erosion Control Divert flow from ravines Runoff from a 25 mm event captured to pond and released slowly back to watercourse over a 24-hour period, removing erosive energies in the ravines Large-Scale Water Reuse Non-potable water Two-season, large-scale water users supply system within range of the pond, allowing for a beneficial use of captured storm sewer discharge Park Integration Walkways in pond area Raised walkways through pond, aesthetic viewsheds, increased waterfowl presence, and the observation platform, are all connected to an existing trail system in the park EARL BALES POND 3 This facility provides a measurable reduction in sediment, bacterial and excess nutrient loadings to the Don River and eventually to Lake Ontario, enhancing fish habitat and reducing the taking of river water for human purposes. 4 2012 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS Complexity The project is designed to remove particulate The stormwater management plan for the Earl Bales matter such as Total Suspended Solids and related Stormwater Management Facility and Water Supply absorbed excess nutrients from raw stormwater System was completed in 2007 under the Municipal discharges by settling, enhancing overall water quality Class Environmental Assessment process. The of flow by displacing these pollutants from the Don design team held three Public Information Centres River. The pond collects this flow via runoff from the to involve local residents and the interested public in approximate area encompassed by a 550 ha area the proposed design. Additional site walks were held from approximately Downsview Airport to Bathurst with focused community groups and environmentally Street, and Steeles Avenue to the 401 in the City of oriented non-governmental organizations at the Toronto. This facility provides a measurable reduction planning stages to explain the project intent and in sediment, bacterial and excess nutrient loadings facilitate wide public acceptance. Numerous written to the Don River and eventually to Lake Ontario, comments from the public in support of the