No Swimming Allowed: A Look at the History of Humber Bay
The City of Toronto has a long history of engagement with its waterfront.
There was a time when people would swim right downtown in the Inner Harbour, but as the city grew and water quality degraded, something had to be done to inform people and protect their health. To address this, “No swimming allowed” signs were installed, and beaches with poor water quality were closed.
Although this may have reduced the number of people getting sick from contaminated water, it also alienated locals from waterfront. Toronto’s beaches are still bustling, but most visitors prefer to sit on the sand rather than dip their toes in the water.
No Swimming Allowed sign in front of Lake Ontario. From Benson Kua via Flickr.
At the end of 2024, the City of Toronto plans to release its updated implementation recommendations for the Western Waterfront Master Plan; a document aiming to provide a clear vision for Toronto’s Western Waterfront, guide future decisions regarding improvement to public spaces in the area, and call for efforts to reconnect the waterfront to the City by redesigning major infrastructure.
Public consultation was the first step towards updating the original Western Waterfront Master Plan released in 2009. Over 1000 public comments were received at the Masterplan consultation in the fall of 2023 regarding the need for improved water quality, urban forest, trails, and other infrastructure in the area leading to a number of proposed amendments.
And the people spoke out for good reason. The Western Waterfront represents a significant public asset, offering one of the city’s longest unobstructed views of Lake Ontario. The stretch of waterfront includes over 40 hectares of parkland, two trails and three public beaches (Sunnyside, Budapest and Gzowski) jointly known as the Western Beaches.
But what led us to the need for revitalization in the first place? Toronto has approximately 46 kilometres of shoreline bordering Lake Ontario, and yet many locals have little connection to the water. There is a stigma around the quality of water in Toronto, particularly at the Western Beaches. To explore why this idea of unswimmable water exists, we need look no further than the history of one particular area of Lake Ontario: Humber Bay.
What’s Going On Underground?
Humber Bay is located in Toronto’s West End between Mimico Creek and Ontario Place. It is fed by the Humber River, which spans through the traditional territories of several Indigenous nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Haudenosaunee, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, and the Mississauga. The river itself holds many names, including Cobechenonk in Anishinaabemowin.
The Humber River from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority via Humber River Watershed Plan
To understand the story of Humber Bay, we must first get down to the nitty-gritty of infrastructure. Toronto, like many older cities, relies on a combined sewer system (CSS) meaning stormwater and wastewater flow through shared, rather than separate pipes. The provincial government stopped approving the construction of new combined sewer systems in the 1980’s. However, there are still 57 combined sewer systems in 44 municipalities throughout the province.
CSSs can result in combined sewer overflows (CSOs) which occur when the sewer system becomes overwhelmed and discharges untreated wastewater directly into local waterways. CSOs are most likely to happen during major rain events, but there is also evidence of them happening during dry spells. In a combined sewer system, CSOs are permitted as they prevent wastewater treatment plants from becoming overwhelmed.
Bypass events are similar in that they act as a relief system for wastewater treatment plants, often during heavy rain. After a certain volume in a short period of time, stormwater and sewage can no longer pass through the full treatment process. Instead, wastewater passes only through the primary treatment and is diverted around the secondary treatment process.
The Humber Bay Sewage Treatment Plant was built prior to the ban on combined sewer systems. It is the city’s second largest wastewater treatment plant and services approximately 662,000 people annually. The plant sits at the mouth of the Humber River, the largest tributary to Humber Bay, and has a capacity of 473,000 m3 of water per day.
Humber Bay Sewage Treatment Plant from Swim Drink Fish
In 2023, there were 17 major bypass events at the Humber River Treatment Plant. This constitutes approximately one billion litres of wastewater (estimated to be approximately three parts stormwater, one part sewage) released into the Humber River that did not pass through the secondary treatment process.
This, of course, has a notable effect on the chemistry and ecology of the river.
A Toxic Relationship
Environmentalists have been studying water quality in Humber River and Bay since the ‘80s, often looking for bacteria such as E. coli. When found in high levels, E. coli can (but not always) be an indicator of human waste in a body of water. Human waste is a vector for many pathogens and bacteria which can negatively impact public health and natural ecosystems, making it of particular importance to track in local waterways. In the Humber Bay, there is some data to suggest fluctuations in E. coli may coincide with major CSO events.
Humber Bay Park West from Swim Drink Fish
And wastewater isn’t the only problem. The Humber River spans across several municipalities, weaving its way through heavily used industrial and agricultural areas. From 2001 - 2007, there were over 900 oil spills and 750 chemical spills into the river. The environmental impacts of this continued damage have been severe, with very few water quality parameters meeting the Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO) in the lower watershed.
Many of the streams, creeks and rivers that feed into the Humber River face their own challenges. Some readers may remember the massive industrial fire that dumped thousands of litres of chemical solvents and oil into Mimico Creek in August, 2023. Spillage events into the smaller rivers and creeks of this watershed are all too common. Humber Bay, as the waterbody that connects them all, often pays the steepest price.
Planning for a Better Future
The good news is there are many people with significant stake in the future of the Humber Bay and its tributaries. The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, in collaboration with Humber River Calling, is seeking to restore the health of the Humber River by fighting for its legal personhood. This comes following a first-of-its-kind Canadian verdict to legally declare the Magpie River, also known as the Muteshekau-shipu by the local Innu, to have several legal rights – most notably being the right to sue.
Swim Drink Fish, through generous donations from the Martin Family Foundation, is also developing a Community Member Pollution Prevention and Advocacy guide, with plans to help connect and educate the community on the Western Waterfront.
The Western Waterfront Revitalization Plan represents a timely opportunity to take real, tangible steps towards better water quality in this part of Lake Ontario. One example of an actionable addition to the plan would be to implement real time monitoring (RTM) for CSO events in the watershed. Currently, data on CSOs takes a minimum of 11 months to become available to the public. RTM has been successfully implemented in Kingston and Hamilton where it has helped provide community members with the information they need to take action and advocate for change in the present.
Improving the quality of any body of water is no small feat. Revitalizing Humber Bay and the rest of the Western Waterfront is a substantial undertaking that crosses into realms of the environmental, political, legal and even emotional. Rectifying years of mismanagement is a complicated issue, but as other stories show us, it is possible. The health of Humber Bay and its rivers has been pushed aside for far too long, but we are now presented with a unique opportunity to make it right.
The water is waiting. It is up to us to take action.
Join the movement by signing the open letter calling for real-time CSO monitoring in the Western Beaches.
