Don River and Central Waterfront Accelerated Plan

The DR&CW is the largest combined sewer overflow control project in Canada. The current cost for the DR&CW is $2.5 billion and is planned to be implemented in phases over 25 years with construction completion of all project phases and components projected for 2038. Toronto Water's approved 2019-2028 Capital Budget and Plan allocates $1.022 billion for the DR&CW. The accelerated plan provided in this report would have the DR&CW construction completed by 2030, eight years sooner than the original plan, requiring an estimated $1.051 billion in additional capital funding within the current 10 year capital plan, and an additional $181.8 million beyond the 2019-2028 Toronto Water Capital Plan for a total DR&CW cost of $2.35 billion. Approved by City Council in 2011, the DR&CW is an integrated wet weather flow management system to capture, store, and transport and treat combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and stormwater discharges from all combined sewer outfalls to the Lower Don River, Taylor-Massey Creek and Toronto's Inner Harbour. The preliminary design for the DR&CW was completed in 2015 and construction of the first phase, the Lower Don Tunnel/Coxwell Bypass began in 2018. The accelerated plan proposes engineering design and construction for future project phases and components on the following prioritized basis: 1) Inner Harbour West Tunnel and outfall connections; 2) offline storage tanks; and, 3) Taylor-Massey Creek Tunnel, in order to complete construction of all project components in 2030 at the earliest. An expedited delivery schedule and details are outlined in this report. The key benefit of the accelerated plan is achieving DR&CW water quality improvements in the Don River and central waterfront in approximately 10 years' time. This will be a major step towards delisting Toronto's waterfront as a polluted Area of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin and supports the Canada and Ontario efforts to clean-up the Great Lakes under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and Toronto Remedial Action Plan (RAP). The DR&CW accelerated plan (DR&CW-AP) would also provide for more effective use of constructed infrastructure and improve sewer capacity to service development in Toronto's downtown and along the central waterfront. In addition, the project's acceleration provides considerable implementation efficiencies for future project phases. At this time, based on an assessment of existing intergovernmental funding programs and eligibility criteria, including completion timelines both at the federal and provincial level, there is limited opportunity to secure intergovernmental funding or financing for the DR&CW. City staff will continue to seek opportunities to secure intergovernmental funds to accelerate of DR&CW.