Retrofitting a stormwater management facility with a wetland component

Abstract

The City of Toronto has built a stormwater management system, the Etobicoke Stormwater Management Facility (ESWMF), along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The Facility represents an innovative stormwater management solution that integrates two previously separate water quality improvement technologies ‐stormwater wetlands and flow balancing systems. The facility, besides improving water quality, will provide aesthetic, recreational and educational benefits. A conceptual plan to retrofit a wetland component within the ESWMF using three wetland design options is presented. The application of this ecotechnology at other stormwater discharges along the Toronto waterfront is discussed. The paper concludes with a review of the policy implications.

Key words:

• ecological stormwater treatment
• retrofit
• flow balancing system
• stormwater wetland
• duckweed
• vegetated rafts

Notes

Corresponding author; e‐mail: [email protected]