Toronto's Western Beaches

Sewage overflows and a lack of natural drainage  are the main reasons for beach closures.

If you visit Toronto's Western beaches - Marie Curtis Park, Gzowski, Sunnyside and Budapest beaches - you will more than likely find yourself sweating at the shoreline than being refreshed by a cool dip. During the summer, these beaches are 'closed' to swimming more often than they are open.

The Western beaches are affected by pollution traveling down Etobicoke and Mimico Creeks and the Humber River. In essence, these beaches are impacted by land-use choices made upstream and combined or storm sewer outfalls that drain the pollutants in the watershed into the creeks and river.

Sunnyside Beach

Wet weather in Toronto brings an immediate rise in the levels of E.coli in the Humber River. Sunnyside and other beaches in the area are extremely susceptible to wet weather events, with E.coli levels in the water spiking in the thousands. Combined sewer overflows into the Humber River and lakeshore are the primary cause of poor water quality, but even on dry weather days the beaches may still be closed.

The Humber River is 120 km long, with its headwaters located in the Oak Ridges Moraine. The lower 48 km of the river contain combined sewer outfalls. Water quality tests in this part of the river often measure 880 E.coli/100ml. E.coli levels in Black Creek, a major tributary of the Humber, often measure over 2000 E.coli/100ml - 20 times the PWQS. It is estimated that 95% of E.coli contamination originates in the City of Toronto, with about 70% of the pollution resulting from combined sewer overflows.

The City of Toronto has spent over $75 million on the construction of an underground tank to intercept sewage overflows in this watershed and protect the beaches. While the Western Beaches Storage Tunnel has reduced the level of bacteria in the water, E.coli levels are often still above the allowable limit.

The City is currently investigating the possibility of constructing a barrier out into the lake to deflect the polluted water coming down the the Humber River, away from the beaches. Many argue that preventative measures are needed to eliminate combined sewer overflows and polluted stormwater runoff. While much of the Humber watershed remains natural, the area inside the developed portions of the GTA is 70% urbanized, home to over 600,000 residents with heavy industry and major highways and roads.

Urbanization and degraded natural features in the Humber watershed leaves little space for natural drainage to occur and magnifies sewage overflow problems and the contamination of stormwater runoff. A large portion of the watershed also has clay soils, which decrease permeability. Only 1% of the watershed is covered by forest, with 5% riparian cover and 1% wetland.

Other pollution and water quality problems contribute to the poor state of beaches in this area. For example, phosphorous loads from fertilizers and other sources that runoff into the storm sewers create algae blooms along the shore every August, adding a green tinge to the water and making swimming unattractive. Large industrial areas drain into Emery Creek and Black Creek degrade water quality.

Finally, agricultural operations (69% of watershed) at the top of the Humber River may be a major ongoing source of E.coli (manure runoff). As housing developments continue to be built over agricultural lands and greenspace in the 905, without natural drainage systems, a considerable increase in pollutant loadings is expected.

Marie Curtis Park Beach

While there are no combined sewers within the Etobicoke-Mimico watershed, beaches in this area are similarly impacted by upstream urbanization.

Because the watershed is largely low density residential communities and pervious soils, installing lot-level natural drainage systems throughout the watershed can lead to a reduction in pollution and more days of swimming at the beach.