Toronto Water Technical Reviews For Reverse Slope Driveways

How to Apply for a Toronto Water Technical Review of a Reverse Slope Driveway

Please do not begin this process until you have reviewed, understood and prepared the required supporting documentation, including technical reports and drawings and a complete Municipal Services Application Form, and are prepared to pay the Technical Review fee.

Review timelines will not commence until a complete application is submitted. For an application to be considered complete, the following must be received by the City:

• Payment of the Technical Review fee and a complete Municipal Services Application Form.
• Supporting documentation – technical reports and drawings.

For any clarification on the submission requirements and/or application, please contact Victoria Crowther via email at Victoria.Crowther@toronto.ca.

Payment & Municipal Services Application

To begin the process, you must submit a completed Municipal Services Application Form to the Toronto Water counter via email at TWC@toronto.ca and pay the Technical Review fee. For information on fees, please refer to Wastewater Fees – Technical Review by Toronto Water staff – Application to Toronto Water for an exemption to permit the construction of a driveway sloped downwards towards a residential building.

The Toronto Water counter will contact applicants to arrange for payment of the Technical Review fee. Accepted forms of payment:

• credit cards – Visa, MasterCard and American Express;
• certified cheques; or
• bank drafts.

Please provide the property owner and agent/applicant contact information to Toronto Water at the time of payment.

Supporting Documentation - Technical Reports and Drawings

After you have submitted the Municipal Services Application Form and paid the Technical Review fee, you will be contacted within five business days by Toronto Water review staff to coordinate the provision of technical supporting documentation for your application.

Documents needed to start the Technical Review include:

1. Topographic Survey, prepared, signed and dated by a qualified surveyor.

2. Reverse Slope Driveway Report and related design drawings prepared, stamped, signed and dated by a professional engineer, licensed to practice in the province of Ontario.

For minimum report submission requirements and limitations for reverse slope driveways, refer to Appendix F of the Design Criteria for Sewers and Watermains – Reverse Slope Driveway Guidelines. Special consideration should be taken to include all of the requirements in Appendix F, including but not limited to:

• demonstration that the drainage from the surrounding area will not contribute to flooding of the reverse slope driveway using supporting calculations;
• a cross-section with spot elevations of the reverse slope driveway from the garage through the right-of-way; and
• existing and proposed site grading and external drainage area plan with spot elevations and the proposed driveway drainage collection and discharge system.

If a connection is proposed from a reverse slope driveway’s drainage collection system to the storm sewer system, the report must demonstrate that discharging at grade would create a hazardous condition or is not technically feasible. In addition, the report shall demonstrate the following:

• a storm sewer must be present immediately adjacent to the subject property, which has capacity to handle any additional stormwater flow resulting from the proposed connection;
• the storm sewer connection shall have no detrimental effects to the storm drainage system;
• a flap gate backwater valve is installed upstream of the public portion of the sewer connection at the street line, so that no stormwater may back up from the City storm sewer into the private drainage collection system;
• a sump pump is located in the overflow sump, to discharge any stormwater which has collected in the drainage collection system while the flap gate backwater valve has closed, to prevent a backup of stormwater;
• the sump pump and any required storage system are appropriately sized to drain the collection area and prevent flooding into the building; and
• any requirements outlined in the City’s Storm Connection Exemption Application webpage are satisfied

3. Copy of the conditional approval of the Committee of Adjustment or Ontario Land Tribunal’s decision (if applicable).

Technical Review Process

Submission of an application for a Toronto Water Technical Review does not guarantee an approval will be granted.

Considerations before applying:

• Should submission requirements not be met as outlined above and in the Reverse Slope Driveway Guidelines in Appendix F of the Design Criteria for Sewers and Watermains, the application will be deemed incomplete and the review and associated response timelines will not begin.
• More information may be required to support the application as determined by Toronto Water review staff.
• The response time after the submission of the first complete application is four to six weeks.
• The response time after the submission of revisions is ten business days for each revision.

Toronto Water will review the submitted materials and if the application meets the conditions necessary for approval, an approval letter will be issued within ten business days of the final submission.  Toronto Water will approve the report and design drawings and provide a copy to the applicant so they can have verification of the approval.