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Cedargrove Park Stormwater Management Facility Sediment Removal and Retrofit

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Consultation has concluded

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Project Overview

The City of Peterborough is making improvements to the existing Cedargrove Stormwater Management Facility at Sherbrooke Street and Glenforest Boulevard.

The proposed project involves the sediment removal and retrofit of the existing Stormwater Management Facility located at Cedargrove Park. The goal of the project is to provide improvements to the existing facility to meet Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Parks (MECP) requirements with respect to water quality as well as increasing total facility volumes and reconstruction of inlet/outlet structures and overland flow routes to prevent flooding. The project will also include improvements to flow-splitting of existing storm sewer networks upstream of the facility.

Please note that environmental considerations are of utmost importance. As part of the project scope environmental professionals will be sub-contracted to remove and relocate existing wildlife from the pond prior to construction.

Current Construction Status (August 20, 2024)

Project Complete - under warranty period

General Information

Despite best engineering efforts to maintain trails, the increase in pond size and sloping to meet pond volume targets to achieve the necessary water quality and flood reduction objectives will require the elimination of the east/west trail and modifications to the existing landscape features. The trail connecting Cedargrove Drive and Sherbrooke St. will remain and the park bench will be relocated along that trail such that residents can enjoy the park from a different location. The project is currently underway and the majority of major infrastructure work will be completed in 2023. Some replanting operations may continue into the spring of 2024.

FAQ:

Q. The hydroseed that was planted looks like a meadow, why didn't the City opt to plant turf grass like before? I like the way the turf grass looks better. 

A. There are a multitude of reasons why Stormwater Management Facilities benefit from a Native Meadow mix which is what was used at this facility. Some of the reasons why Meadow mix is considered a best management practice around a stormwater management facility are as follows:

  1. Meadow mix grass types offer deeper root systems which prevents berm erosion around the facility.
  2. Meadow mix grass types prevent undesirable waterfowl such as geese from gravitating toward the facility, geese droppings are not desirable around a Stormwater Management Facility as they are meant to improve water quality.
  3. The berms at this facility require steep slopes to provide the extended detention storage volume (flood control storage) regular mowing of turf grass is difficult along steep slopes. Additionally, grass clippings increase the presence of algae within the facility.
  4. Meadow mix seed types provide more diverse vegetation and habitat for pollinators

The City has already been in contact with the contractor to address bare sections of soil and will be returning in the fall to do another round of hydroseeding under the warranty period. However, it will take a couple of growing seasons for the facility to properly vegetate.

Q. The newly planted trees around the pond are already dying, why haven't they been properly taken care of?

A. Per the contract documents it is the contractors responsibility to ensure that the trees are properly established and watered sufficiently. Staff are currently preparing a list of the trees that require replacement and the contractor will be returning in the fall or spring to replace any that have failed as a warranty claim item.


Q. What does a Stormwater Management Pond do?

A. Stormwater Management ponds are designed to capture and retain urban runoff from the storm sewer system (rain water that flows over impervious surfaces such as roofs, roads, driveways and sidewalks) these ponds hold the water for a period of time in order to let sediment, trash, debris and pollution settle within the facility before outflowing. This process improves the water quality that enters our natural water courses downstream. Another function of the Stormwater Management Facility is to prevent flooding by providing additional storage volume to prevent a bottleneck effect. During heavy rain events the facilty will fill up beyond its normal water level and slowly release water at a controlled rate. These types of facilities are required by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECP). For more information please visit the City's Stormwater web page.

Q. Can you provide more of an explanation as to why the east-west trail was eliminated from the concept plans at the original public open house?

A. During the conceptual design, the original plan was to salvage the east-west trail as much as possible since we know how important that was to the residents. However, after completing the detailed design, finalizing the stormwater calculations for water quantity and quality and appropriately sizing the pond to handle significant storm events without spilling (the primary function of the project) it was determined that we could not accommodate a safe trail that meets accessibility standards, does not cause potential winter icing issues, all while maintaining maximum 3:1 surrounding slopes for grounds maintenance. Building up a safe accessible walking platform would have taken away from the overall volume of the pond which we could not afford to do from a flood reduction standpoint. The volume targets for this pond are especially critical as there is no creek or watercourse for this pond to spill toward if it were to overflow.

We tried multiple iterations to salvage what we could of the trail but ultimately it was not feasible given the various constraints. Even if we were to disregard the flood control, maintenance access, winter ice issues, grading and accessibility constraints the new trail would be installed roughly 13 meters away from the existing sidewalk along Sherbrooke St. introducing a redundant piece of infrastructure which also supported our decision to eliminate it. All existing walking routes are maintained via the sidewalk on Sherbrooke St. to the north-south trail connecting Sherbrooke St. to Cedargrove Dr.

Q. I have heard that there will be no aeration device in the pond, is that true?

A. That is correct, there is no aeration system. We do not have aeration systems at any pond in the City of Peterborough. The vast majority of stormwater management ponds in general in Ontario do not have aeration systems. The pond is an on-line system where water flows through during periods of rain and that is what facilitates movement through the pond. Yes, it is true that during dry conditions the SWM ponds can become somewhat stagnant until the next rain and these facilities are meant to capture pollution and contaminants from urban runoff by design to protect our natural watercourses so the water is not "clean". Aeration systems in ponds are something we have looked into but with it comes installing power to the system as well as annual maintenance of the system. Currently, the City is already struggling to meet the annual maintenance needs of these facilities and we do not have additional resources to add, maintain and power aeration systems within each pond.

Q. Can you provide more details on the tree planting? I heard the City ran out of trees.

A. The City didn’t run out of trees, over 100 trees were planted as part of the project as well as the planting of a naturalized safety buffer around the waters edge.

Q. How deep is the pond and what sort of safety measures is the City implementing around the facility?

A. The permanent pool (day-to-day water level) of the pond is 2 meters or 6 feet deep. Rather than surrounding the facility with a chain link fence, the City opted to do plantings along the water's edge to create a "naturalized buffer". These plantings have been completed with Otonabee Region Conservation but will take a couple of growing seasons to establish. In the meantime, the City has acknowledged that there could be an improvement to safety around the water while this naturalized buffer grows so we are investigating the potential to install some additional safety measures this fall (2024) to remain during the winter to prevent entry into the water.

There are also 3 warning signs one facing east, one facing west and one facing south. Residents are reminded that these Stormwater Management Facilities are not meant for swimming, fishing, skating or sledding. The water in these facilities is constantly circulating, rising and falling which makes for unpredictable conditions.

Q. What is the purpose of that concrete path leading down to the water off of Glenforest Blvd., is that a boat ramp?

A. No that is not a boat ramp, that is an access road for future maintenance operations. This has been chained off as residents should not be launching boats into a Stormwater Management Facility.

Q. Shouldn't there be a life-saving flotation device included around a Stormwater Management Pond?

A. These facilities are not meant for swimming and the introduction of something like a life-saving ring could indirectly send the message that swimming is allowed. The introduction of a life-saving ring would also pose a potential risk for tampering and theft. If there is an emergency, residents should call 911. Parents are also reminded to not leave children unattended near any body of water in Peterborough.

Q. Is this a good use of taxpayers' dollars?

A. In 2004 the Cedagrove stormwater management pond overflowed and flooded out private properties on Cedargrove Dr. The new facility is now sized to better handle the 100-year and Regional storms which is the primary intent of the project. The City is seeing a trend of these significant storms occurring far more frequently than usual so updating our stormwater infrastructure is critical to reduce harm to the public and damage to property. Recently, the events of August 3rd are a good indicator of why these flood reduction projects are so important. Despite being incomplete at the time, the new facility handled the heavy flows of that event without failing and did not spill. The project also includes repairs of the upstream storm sewer infrastructure, something that may not be visible to the public but is critical to ensuring the stormwater sewers function properly. The upstream repairs will also divert more flows to the facility which increases the overall water quality benefits and protects our natural watercourses. While we strive to make the stormwater management facilities aesthetic and recreational where we can, the functionality of the facility is what remains the priority.

Consultation

How can you be heard?

Consultation on the initial design of this project is now closed. All comments received have been considered by the project team and amendments made where feasible.

We encourage you to provide any comments, questions or concerns you may have during the construction phase and beyond through the Questions and Comments section found at the bottom of this page. Your feedback is valuable in ensuring the proposed Cedargrove Park Stormwater Management Facility Sediment Removal and Retrofit project meets the needs of the community. We value your feedback and we will review and consider all input we receive. 

Details of the current design of the Cedargrove Stormwater Management Facility are located on the top, right side of this page. 

Several parties have already been approached as part of the ongoing works including the following:

  • Local residents
  • Curve Lake First Nation
  • Hiawatha First Nation
  • Otonabee Region Conservation Authority.

An in-person Public Consultation session was held in 2019 however there were significant design revisions since that meeting. A second comment period was commenced in 2021 to circulate the design revisions and sought any additional comments on the revised design.

Next steps

All input and feedback have been reviewed and considered by the project team, and incorporated into the detailed design if possible. All future project progress updates will also be posted to this page, including project timing and construction schedule.

Project Overview

The City of Peterborough is making improvements to the existing Cedargrove Stormwater Management Facility at Sherbrooke Street and Glenforest Boulevard.

The proposed project involves the sediment removal and retrofit of the existing Stormwater Management Facility located at Cedargrove Park. The goal of the project is to provide improvements to the existing facility to meet Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Parks (MECP) requirements with respect to water quality as well as increasing total facility volumes and reconstruction of inlet/outlet structures and overland flow routes to prevent flooding. The project will also include improvements to flow-splitting of existing storm sewer networks upstream of the facility.

Please note that environmental considerations are of utmost importance. As part of the project scope environmental professionals will be sub-contracted to remove and relocate existing wildlife from the pond prior to construction.

Current Construction Status (August 20, 2024)

Project Complete - under warranty period

General Information

Despite best engineering efforts to maintain trails, the increase in pond size and sloping to meet pond volume targets to achieve the necessary water quality and flood reduction objectives will require the elimination of the east/west trail and modifications to the existing landscape features. The trail connecting Cedargrove Drive and Sherbrooke St. will remain and the park bench will be relocated along that trail such that residents can enjoy the park from a different location. The project is currently underway and the majority of major infrastructure work will be completed in 2023. Some replanting operations may continue into the spring of 2024.

FAQ:

Q. The hydroseed that was planted looks like a meadow, why didn't the City opt to plant turf grass like before? I like the way the turf grass looks better. 

A. There are a multitude of reasons why Stormwater Management Facilities benefit from a Native Meadow mix which is what was used at this facility. Some of the reasons why Meadow mix is considered a best management practice around a stormwater management facility are as follows:

  1. Meadow mix grass types offer deeper root systems which prevents berm erosion around the facility.
  2. Meadow mix grass types prevent undesirable waterfowl such as geese from gravitating toward the facility, geese droppings are not desirable around a Stormwater Management Facility as they are meant to improve water quality.
  3. The berms at this facility require steep slopes to provide the extended detention storage volume (flood control storage) regular mowing of turf grass is difficult along steep slopes. Additionally, grass clippings increase the presence of algae within the facility.
  4. Meadow mix seed types provide more diverse vegetation and habitat for pollinators

The City has already been in contact with the contractor to address bare sections of soil and will be returning in the fall to do another round of hydroseeding under the warranty period. However, it will take a couple of growing seasons for the facility to properly vegetate.

Q. The newly planted trees around the pond are already dying, why haven't they been properly taken care of?

A. Per the contract documents it is the contractors responsibility to ensure that the trees are properly established and watered sufficiently. Staff are currently preparing a list of the trees that require replacement and the contractor will be returning in the fall or spring to replace any that have failed as a warranty claim item.


Q. What does a Stormwater Management Pond do?

A. Stormwater Management ponds are designed to capture and retain urban runoff from the storm sewer system (rain water that flows over impervious surfaces such as roofs, roads, driveways and sidewalks) these ponds hold the water for a period of time in order to let sediment, trash, debris and pollution settle within the facility before outflowing. This process improves the water quality that enters our natural water courses downstream. Another function of the Stormwater Management Facility is to prevent flooding by providing additional storage volume to prevent a bottleneck effect. During heavy rain events the facilty will fill up beyond its normal water level and slowly release water at a controlled rate. These types of facilities are required by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECP). For more information please visit the City's Stormwater web page.

Q. Can you provide more of an explanation as to why the east-west trail was eliminated from the concept plans at the original public open house?

A. During the conceptual design, the original plan was to salvage the east-west trail as much as possible since we know how important that was to the residents. However, after completing the detailed design, finalizing the stormwater calculations for water quantity and quality and appropriately sizing the pond to handle significant storm events without spilling (the primary function of the project) it was determined that we could not accommodate a safe trail that meets accessibility standards, does not cause potential winter icing issues, all while maintaining maximum 3:1 surrounding slopes for grounds maintenance. Building up a safe accessible walking platform would have taken away from the overall volume of the pond which we could not afford to do from a flood reduction standpoint. The volume targets for this pond are especially critical as there is no creek or watercourse for this pond to spill toward if it were to overflow.

We tried multiple iterations to salvage what we could of the trail but ultimately it was not feasible given the various constraints. Even if we were to disregard the flood control, maintenance access, winter ice issues, grading and accessibility constraints the new trail would be installed roughly 13 meters away from the existing sidewalk along Sherbrooke St. introducing a redundant piece of infrastructure which also supported our decision to eliminate it. All existing walking routes are maintained via the sidewalk on Sherbrooke St. to the north-south trail connecting Sherbrooke St. to Cedargrove Dr.

Q. I have heard that there will be no aeration device in the pond, is that true?

A. That is correct, there is no aeration system. We do not have aeration systems at any pond in the City of Peterborough. The vast majority of stormwater management ponds in general in Ontario do not have aeration systems. The pond is an on-line system where water flows through during periods of rain and that is what facilitates movement through the pond. Yes, it is true that during dry conditions the SWM ponds can become somewhat stagnant until the next rain and these facilities are meant to capture pollution and contaminants from urban runoff by design to protect our natural watercourses so the water is not "clean". Aeration systems in ponds are something we have looked into but with it comes installing power to the system as well as annual maintenance of the system. Currently, the City is already struggling to meet the annual maintenance needs of these facilities and we do not have additional resources to add, maintain and power aeration systems within each pond.

Q. Can you provide more details on the tree planting? I heard the City ran out of trees.

A. The City didn’t run out of trees, over 100 trees were planted as part of the project as well as the planting of a naturalized safety buffer around the waters edge.

Q. How deep is the pond and what sort of safety measures is the City implementing around the facility?

A. The permanent pool (day-to-day water level) of the pond is 2 meters or 6 feet deep. Rather than surrounding the facility with a chain link fence, the City opted to do plantings along the water's edge to create a "naturalized buffer". These plantings have been completed with Otonabee Region Conservation but will take a couple of growing seasons to establish. In the meantime, the City has acknowledged that there could be an improvement to safety around the water while this naturalized buffer grows so we are investigating the potential to install some additional safety measures this fall (2024) to remain during the winter to prevent entry into the water.

There are also 3 warning signs one facing east, one facing west and one facing south. Residents are reminded that these Stormwater Management Facilities are not meant for swimming, fishing, skating or sledding. The water in these facilities is constantly circulating, rising and falling which makes for unpredictable conditions.

Q. What is the purpose of that concrete path leading down to the water off of Glenforest Blvd., is that a boat ramp?

A. No that is not a boat ramp, that is an access road for future maintenance operations. This has been chained off as residents should not be launching boats into a Stormwater Management Facility.

Q. Shouldn't there be a life-saving flotation device included around a Stormwater Management Pond?

A. These facilities are not meant for swimming and the introduction of something like a life-saving ring could indirectly send the message that swimming is allowed. The introduction of a life-saving ring would also pose a potential risk for tampering and theft. If there is an emergency, residents should call 911. Parents are also reminded to not leave children unattended near any body of water in Peterborough.

Q. Is this a good use of taxpayers' dollars?

A. In 2004 the Cedagrove stormwater management pond overflowed and flooded out private properties on Cedargrove Dr. The new facility is now sized to better handle the 100-year and Regional storms which is the primary intent of the project. The City is seeing a trend of these significant storms occurring far more frequently than usual so updating our stormwater infrastructure is critical to reduce harm to the public and damage to property. Recently, the events of August 3rd are a good indicator of why these flood reduction projects are so important. Despite being incomplete at the time, the new facility handled the heavy flows of that event without failing and did not spill. The project also includes repairs of the upstream storm sewer infrastructure, something that may not be visible to the public but is critical to ensuring the stormwater sewers function properly. The upstream repairs will also divert more flows to the facility which increases the overall water quality benefits and protects our natural watercourses. While we strive to make the stormwater management facilities aesthetic and recreational where we can, the functionality of the facility is what remains the priority.

Consultation

How can you be heard?

Consultation on the initial design of this project is now closed. All comments received have been considered by the project team and amendments made where feasible.

We encourage you to provide any comments, questions or concerns you may have during the construction phase and beyond through the Questions and Comments section found at the bottom of this page. Your feedback is valuable in ensuring the proposed Cedargrove Park Stormwater Management Facility Sediment Removal and Retrofit project meets the needs of the community. We value your feedback and we will review and consider all input we receive. 

Details of the current design of the Cedargrove Stormwater Management Facility are located on the top, right side of this page. 

Several parties have already been approached as part of the ongoing works including the following:

  • Local residents
  • Curve Lake First Nation
  • Hiawatha First Nation
  • Otonabee Region Conservation Authority.

An in-person Public Consultation session was held in 2019 however there were significant design revisions since that meeting. A second comment period was commenced in 2021 to circulate the design revisions and sought any additional comments on the revised design.

Next steps

All input and feedback have been reviewed and considered by the project team, and incorporated into the detailed design if possible. All future project progress updates will also be posted to this page, including project timing and construction schedule.