Town of Richmond Hill Snow Storage Facility.

With regards to winter roads maintenance, the Town of Richmond Hill disposed of snow collected from our downtown core streets at a private quarry. However, in 2002, the property owner initiated development of the quarry site leaving the municipality with the task of establishing a new snow disposal location, one that would serve the Town of Richmond Hill for years to come, be cost effective, efficient and protect the environment. After considering various potential sites, the new snow storage facility was sited at the northerly limit of Town of Richmond Hill Operations Centre property, located north of Elgin Mills Road and west of Leslie Street. Despite its obvious location and operational advantages this preferred site had a major obstacle to overcome. The facility was to be located on the southerly slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an ecologically and environmentally significant feature in Southern Ontario. The Moraine provides critical storage of high quality drinking water and is the source of headwater streams across the Greater Toronto Area. Given that the discharge from the snow storage facility would enter the headwaters of the Rouge River watershed, a significant coldwater fishery, careful design of the facility was required. This would ensure the quality and value of the ecological components of the Rouge River watershed were maintained and protection of groundwater aquifers from environmental impact was addressed. This project was nominated for the TAC 2009 Environmental Achievement Award. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E220308.