Help us Restore West End Toronto Waters

Mission Critical

Toronto’s West End has a sewage problem...and nobody is talking about it.

Help prevent Toronto’s sewage and stormwater from polluting Lake Ontario and revitalize our western beaches.

Increase transparency around CSOs - connect people, educate and amplify voices, increases accessibly to waterfront

imporiving rec water quality as a long term goal - decomissioning the CSS

short term - provide transparency around CSOs so people can know when and where to access the water. Access water and have a voice.

western beaches have water quality issues - lets change that

what is the project -

why are we doing this -

where -

how - how to get involved

stay tuned - events

Advocate for Real-time Monitoring of the West End CSOs

We are urging the City of Toronto to provide Real-time Monitoring of the two CSO points at Sunnyside and Marilyn Bell.

Real-time Monitoring systems monitor sewer flow rates and inform the public when a CSO event has occurred. This helps people make an informed decision when deciding when and where to recreate. Currently, there is not a reliable reporting tool. Cities such as Kingston and Vancouver have implemented real-time monitoring maps of CSOs

Real time monitoring is a step in the right direction to separating the sewer systems as it raises awareness around the issue.

Benefits of Real-time Monitoring include:

  • Protecting public health

  • Promoting water literacy

  • Increasing data transparency

Support our call for Real-time Monitoring by signing the letter to the City of Toronto

Increasing swimability for recreational water users through increased transparency of CSOS

We want to educate and uplift the community

Frequently Asked Questions

  • During heavy rainfall events, the volume of stormwater that enters may exceed the sewer system capacity. Rather than the system letting water back up through storm grates and into basements, water can exit the sewer through an event called a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). The mixture of untreated sewage, stormwater, and litter from the sewer system flows directly into local waters.

  • Separating the sewer system!

  • Combined sewer systems are legacies that are now causing problems for municipalities. Separating sewers is extremely costly and can be tricky for municipalities. That being said, as more people populate Canadian cities, the combined sewer systems are only getting more and more over-capacity. Separating sewers should be a priority to keep local waterways clean.

Other Ways to Get Involved

  • Submit Your Watermark

    The Watermark Project is a community effort to collect and archive true stories about the ways people interact with water. These stories help us all recognize our dependence on water and highlight water's influence on our culture. By saving and studying these stories, we help protect the waters we love.

  • Report West End Pollution with VAST

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  • Start a Community Site

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  • Legal Advocacy Guide

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Click Here to Submit your Watermark