Cherry Street Stormwater Management Facility

The Cherry Street Stormwater Facility project services the West Don Lands community and future development in the North Keating area. The 650m² facility was constructed with an estimated total of 1,300m³ of structural and self-consolidating concrete. The building footprint sits on 38 large caisson piles with depths up to 20m.

A three-step treatment process was incorporated into the facility. The water begins through an oil and grit separator, which removes sediment, debris and oil. Next, the water is clarified as fine suspended solids are removed through ballast flocculation. This process allows the system to make efficient use of space and is more economical when compared to constructing traditional sediment ponds or tanks on contaminated sites. The final step is water disinfection using ultraviolet (UV) light before releasing into Lake Ontario.

The facility marks a landmark structure, incorporating many unique architectural features. The external structure of the building has been embellished with etchings acting as rain channels running down the building’s roof and walls into the stormwater shaft below. This clever detail is both an artistic choice to make the space more visually appealing to future developments in the surrounding area, while also increasing the buildings function to treat storm water.