This project is no longer active. The following information is provided for archival purposes.

The City of Toronto is building an underground residue management facility at the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. The facility is required by the Ministry of the Environment and will help improve local beach water quality. The plant currently pumps untreated residues (material left over from the water treatment process) into the lake. When the facility is constructed, the City will treat the residues on site.

What is a Residue Management Facility?
A residue management facility contains process equipment and underground tanks to remove solid materials left over from the process of cleaning lake water to make potable (drinking) water.

Why is the City building this facility?
The R.C. Harris plant was built in the 1930s and expanded in the 1950s. At the time, it was common practice to discharge residues back to the source. Today, new provincial regulations require treatment of waste produced during the filtration process. This new practice will contribute to the City's efforts to improve the local waterfront and fulfil its requirements to the Province.

In 2002, the City completed a Class Environmental Assessment (EA) for this project. An Addendum was completed in 2003. The Addendum recommends designing and building the residue management facility underground. The design in the Addendum does not affect the architectural or heritage features of the plant.

Construction details
In September 2004, Toronto Council awarded Kenaidan Contracting Limited the contract to build the residue management facility. CH2M HILL Canada Limited, the design engineers for this project, will provide contract administration services.

Work schedule
Construction began in November 2004, and is anticipated to be complete in the Spring of 2007. See the work schedule (PDF).
You will need to have the FREE Acrobat Reader to view PDF files.

Limiting the effects of construction
To reduce the impacts of construction on the neighbourhood, the project team is putting in place numerous measures. These include:

Dust control
The contractor is using a variety of dust control measures to limit dust production on-site. A 10-foot hoarding has been be built around the construction area and along the outside of the east and west access roads to reduce the amount of dust escaping the site. The contractor will remove graffiti and unofficial postings from the hoarding regularly.

Additional dust control measures include:

• installation of a filter cloth to cover the chainlink fence between the service building and the pump station
• installation of a filter cloth on the fence on the south side of the pump station and gates, directly adjacent to the pile of earth
• installation of a new fence, covered with filter cloth, on the western most side of the construction area where the hoarding dips down, to prevent dust from blowing over the hoarding at that point
• placement of tarps on the north slope of the sea wall pile

Restricting plant access
An area a little bigger than a football field is being excavated for construction of the facility. For safety purposes, public access to the grounds will not be allowed throughout the construction period. A temporary road has been built at the foot of Nursewood Road to allow access for deliveries, operations staff, and plant maintenance vehicles during construction. Construction vehicles related to this project are not permitted on Nursewood Road.

Noise control
All construction vehicles and equipment will have effective muffling devices that will minimize noise in the project area. The City's Noise By-law will also be enforced. Most of the time, construction work will be limited to 7:00am to 7:00pm, Monday to Friday. From time to time the hours and/or days of work may be extended. The hoarding will also help to reduce noise from construction.

Erosion and Sedimentation
Sedimentation ponds, silt fences, and straw bales will be used as part of an erosion and sedimentation control plan.

Consideration of heritage features
Construction of the facility will not affect the heritage features of the plant. The new facility will be built underground and will not be invisible from the plant surface. When construction is complete, the site grading and landscaping will be completely restored. All temporary roads installed for construction will be removed.

The project team regrets that public access to the R.C. Harris site will not be permitted throughout the construction period.

Contact us
If you have any questions or concerns about this project please contact:

Public Consultation Unit
City of Toronto
Metro Hall, 19th Floor
55 John Street
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
Tel: 416-397-7777
Fax: 416-392-2974
TTY: 416-397-0831
Email: works_consultation@toronto.ca