Urban Stormwater

Stormwater is excess rainwater that doesn’t readily soak into the ground.  It runs off rooftops, driveways, roads, fields and lawns. Effective stormwater management helps prevent flooding and damage to property, as well as preserve local ecosystems by safeguarding water quality.

In rural areas, ditches and culverts are the primary methods for directing stormwater away from properties and roads.  In urbanized areas, stormwater management may include storm sewers, catch basins and manholes that direct stormwater away from properties, roads, other vital municipal infrastructure and toward stormwater management facilities.  

Stormwater management facilities are specifically designed to protect downstream infrastructure from flooding by temporarily storing runoff and improving water quality by trapping pollutant-laden sediment in runoff.  Stormwater management facilities provide centralized collection of polluted sediments which helps to prevent their uncontrolled release into rivers, streams and lakes where they can degrade water quality, harm aquatic life and adversely impact downstream recreational areas.

There are currently over 25 urban stormwater management facilities located across the municipality. These facilities are comprised of:

• Dry Ponds - detain water for a short period of time (less than 48 hours) to allow particles and pollutants picked up along the way to settle and reduce stormwater peak flow rates.
• Wet Ponds - hold a permanent pool of water for an extended retention time which allows for the settling of suspended solids and contaminants before releasing the treated stormwater back to the environment at a controlled rate.
• Low Impact Development (LID) Features - mimic natural water cycles by increasing stormwater infiltration into the soil where it is filtered and absorbed by plants and/or specialized filter media.

Environmental Services ensures urban stormwater management facilities are operated and maintained in a safe and reliable manner, utilizing preventative, rather than reactive, strategies to manage and reduce overall risk with consideration to the environment while protecting the water quality of the Lake Simcoe and Eastern Georgian Bay watersheds. 

Response is available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, three hundred and sixty-five (365) days a year for service calls or emergencies related to stormwater management facilities. All Environmental Services Technicians are licensed under Ontario Regulation 129/04 (Regulation Licensing of Sewage Works Operators). 

Stormwater Management Facilities Reminders

Public access is strictly prohibited in stormwater management facilities areas as water levels are subject to dramatic and rapid changes during periods of rain and snow melt. Site conditions including muddy water, sudden drop offs, subsurface currents, and the potential for entanglement with vegetation and debris are all possible.

Do not dump garbage or other household waste (including used medical products, fertilizers, soap scum) into storm sewers, creeks or stormwater management facilities. These pollutants represent a community safety hazard and compromise the environment.

For information on the maintenance of rural drainage (ditches, culverts and municipal drains), please visit Road Maintenance Information.