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Humber River Islands?
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| spitty |
Man-made Humber islands would solve two problems at once
Officials often come to city council to propose new bylaws, garbage fees or tree-planting programs. It is not every day that one of them suggests creating an archipelago. That was what Lou Di Gironimo did this month when he presented a clever plan to build a series of small islands off the mouth of the Humber River on the western waterfront.
Mr. Di Gironimo is the general manager of Toronto Water, the city agency that makes sure clean water comes out of your tap. A compact 48-year-old with shaved head and goatee, he is one of those smart, hard-working civil servants who confound the stereotype of the lay-about city hall bureaucrat wallowing in gravy.
When I met him in his 24th floor office in city hall’s east wing, he held forth for nearly an hour on the vast job the city faces renewing its aging network of water pipes and sewer lines. With the organized mind of the woodworker that he is in his spare time, he’s always looking for fitting solutions. “We don’t shy from the challenges,” he says of his Toronto Water crew. “We’re problem-solvers.”
The islands project appeals to him because it neatly solves two of his problems at once. Problem 1: he has too much dirt.
Digging all those new sewer tunnels and burying all those water pipes will produce around 800,000 cubic metres of “excavated fill” over the next 10 years. Tunnelling for the Eglinton Crosstown transit line will produce another 800,000. Then there is all the fill from digging foundations for the condos and other buildings shooting up around the city. Creating the Humber Bay islands would require 2 million cubic metres, absorbing much of Toronto’s excess and avoiding the cost of shipping it to landfill sites.
Problem 2: pollution from the Humber River. Toronto has done a great job of cleaning up its swimming beaches. Eight of 11 now boast Blue Flag status, consistently exceeding tough international standards for water quality and general cleanliness. But two western beaches, Marie Curtis and Sunnyside, a favourite of Toronto bathers for generations, are affected by the pollutants flushed into the lake from the Humber, especially after rainstorms.
The city thought it might be able to solve the problem by putting a floating curtain at Sunnyside to block Humber outflows and by treating the enclosed water with ultraviolet light. A pilot project in 2009 and 2010 showed that it would be far too tricky and expensive.
So Mr. Di Gironimo and his staff dusted off the Humber islands concept, first proposed in a little-known study a decade back. The islands would extend about a kilometre into the lake on the eastern side of the Humber mouth. Connected by an underwater berm, they would deflect the Humber’s waters out into the deep lake water, away from the beaches.
Apart from killing two birds with one stone, the islands would give Torontonians a new chance to enjoy one of the city’s best features: its lakefront. Mr. Di Gironimo envisions a series of treed oases linked by bridges and laced with walkways.
Toronto already has several man-made fingers stretching into the lake, from Bluffer’s Park and Ashbridge’s Bay Park in the east to Humber Bay Park in the west. That is not to mention the Spit, the great arm formed of construction rubble and fill that sweeps into the lake from the foot of Leslie Street. They are wonderful places, thronged by migrating birds and enjoyed by walkers and cyclists. The Humber islands would be a great asset.
In addition to the Humber islands, Mr. Di Gironimo envisions building a “storm-water wetland” on the other side of the waterfront, just south of the Ashbridges Bay wastewater treatment plant, to hold sewer overflows. Fronted by beaches and pathways, it would connect the eastern waterfront parks with the Spit.
It is all quite a few years and many millions of dollars away. City council has only agreed to Mr. Di Gironimo’s request for a study. All the same, at a time of lowered expectations and pinched vision in government, it’s great to see a mandarin who isn’t afraid to think big. |
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| Sentinal |
| very interesting. Would be nice to see it happen before we are old.... |
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| geroin |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sentinal
very interesting. Would be nice to see it happen before we are old.... |
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| rabbitjoker |
| These will turn into bird island like the one out in West Humber. |
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| Swamper |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
These will turn into bird island like the one out in West Humber. |
So? Who cares if it helps out the beach? Birds gotta too!
Not sure on the specifics about all this... almost sounds too good to be true? Generally ing with nature is a bad idea... |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by Swamper
ing with nature is a bad idea... |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by Swamper
Generally ing with nature is a bad idea... |
how so? |
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| PurpleHaze |
I think this is a superb idea and really hope it gets approved. We need more people in the world who think like this guy!
It's a great idea based on all the reasons mentioned in the article.
I don't feel that the construction of these diverter islands would disrupt nature and its biota at all. The reason why Leslie St Spit has hundreds of plant/animal species thriving on it is because it was originally "just a fill dump" and it created many little enclosed bays and embankments which welcomed and hosted several different species as it does still today.
The most that these Humber diverter islands would host is a few tree/shrub species and maybe a landing pad/rest pit for some birds. Plus, if they really wanted to they could scare them away every once in a while so no birds actually 'reside' there.
The UV light treatment of Humber Bay seems a bit too far fetched and most likely will never be implemented. However, UV light treatment is a really effective form of water disinfectant and I know of a few plants around the GTA are swapping to UV. Huge project, but once installed they can be more effective and cheaper than chlorine disinfecting! |
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| spitty |
| quote: | Originally posted by Swamper
Generally ing with nature is a bad idea... |
valid point, except that we already ed nature...and now need to make amends. |
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| GGM |
^^ That's what I was thinking too.
Many people don't know that all of Harbourfront is 100% man made. Front St was named that because it used to be right on the water, like modern day Queens Quay. I can't say to what degree this is the case down by Humber but it's likely a safe bet that the polluted rain water problem and probably most other ones out there are due to our own actions. |
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| geroin |
| quote: | Originally posted by spitty
except that we already ed nature... |
gangbang styles |
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