THUNDER BAY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT APRIL 2016 VOLUME I: The Plan This project has received funding support from Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Such support does not indicate endorsement by Environment Canada or the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of the contents of this material. Ce projet a reçu le soutien fi nancier du Environnement Canada et le Ministère de l’Environnement et de l’Action en matière de changement climatique. Ce soutien n’indique pas l'approbation par Environnement Canada ou le Ministère de l’Environnement et de l’Action en matière de changement climatique du contenu de la matériel. Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan Prepared by Emmons & Olivier Resources, Inc. (EOR) w a t e r e c o l o g y c o m m u n i t y Emmons & Olivier Resources, Inc. City of Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan – Vol. I April-2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... viii GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................................ xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... xv SIGNATURE PAGE .......................................................................................................................... xviii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... xix 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Connection to Other Planning Efforts ........................................................................................... 3 1.4 Regulatory Setting ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Federal Legislation .............................................................................................................. 7 1.4.2 Provincial Legislation .......................................................................................................... 7 1.4.3 Municipal Regulation ........................................................................................................ 12 1.5 Class Environmental Assessment Process .................................................................................. 15 2 WATERSHED ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Location ....................................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Climate and Precipitation ........................................................................................................... 19 2.2.1 Climate .............................................................................................................................. 19 2.2.2 Precipitation ...................................................................................................................... 21 2.3 Physical Geography ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1 Topography ....................................................................................................................... 22 2.3.2 Geology ............................................................................................................................. 22 2.3.3 Groundwater ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 Land Use and Land Cover ............................................................................................................ 27 2.4.1 Land Use ............................................................................................................................ 27 2.4.2 Land Cover ........................................................................................................................ 29 2.5 Watersheds ................................................................................................................................. 30 2.5.1 Current River ..................................................................................................................... 30 2.5.2 Kaministiquia River ........................................................................................................... 32 2.5.3 McIntyre River .................................................................................................................. 34 2.5.4 McVicar Creek ................................................................................................................... 36 2.5.5 Mosquito Creek ................................................................................................................. 37 2.5.6 Neebing River .................................................................................................................... 38 2.5.7 Pennock Creek .................................................................................................................. 39 2.5.8 Waterfront ........................................................................................................................ 40 2.6 Wetlands ..................................................................................................................................... 41 2.6.1 Sources of Wetland Data .................................................................................................. 42 2.6.2 Wetlands within the City .................................................................................................. 42 2.6.3 Wetlands Located outside of the City ............................................................................... 45 Page: i City of Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan – Vol. I April-2016 2.7 Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 45 2.7.1 Summary of Available Monitoring Data ........................................................................... 45 2.7.2 Summary of Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Data by Watershed ........................... 47 2.7.3 Existing Pollutant Concentrations ..................................................................................... 52 2.7.4 Existing Pollutant Loads .................................................................................................... 58 2.8 Pollutant Sources ........................................................................................................................ 61 2.9 Water Use ................................................................................................................................... 61 2.9.1 Thunder Bay Municipal Water Supply and Water Treatment Plant ................................. 61 2.9.2 Industrial Water Supply .................................................................................................... 61 2.10 Stormwater Infrastructure .......................................................................................................... 62 2.11 Gap Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 63 3 ASSESSMENT OF PRIORITY NEEDS .................................................................................................... 65 3.1 Priority Needs ............................................................................................................................. 65 3.1.1 Review of Existing Plans, Studies and Other Reports ....................................................... 65 3.1.2 Priorities Identified During Public Engagement Process .................................................. 65 3.2 Evaluation of Stormwater Infrastructure .................................................................................... 65 3.2.1 Base Models ...................................................................................................................... 66 3.2.2 Northwest Arterial Golf Links Feasibility-Level Model ..................................................... 66 3.3 Establishment of Water Quality Targets and Ranking ................................................................ 70 3.3.1 Water Quality Targets ....................................................................................................... 70 3.3.2 Stream Pollutant Ranking ................................................................................................. 72 3.4 Climate Change Assessment and IDF Curves Development ....................................................... 73 3.5 Climate Change Adaptation ........................................................................................................ 74 3.6 New Stormwater Measures and Retrofit Opportunities