In 2011, The Town of Ajax completed a Master Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) for Stormwater Retrofit Study to investigate stormwater management retrofit opportunities and new stormwater management practices. The EA established a list of recommended water quality improvements for sewer sheds in the Town. These recommendations provide a long term strategy, ensuring the Town continues to be an innovative leader committed to introducing new technologies while updating infrastructure and policies to enhance the environment.
The Rain Garden project was a recommendation from the EA. The location for the first phase is on the south side of Lake Driveway from Harwood Avenue to Anstead Crescent within the boulevard and the Ajax Waterfront park. Construction was completed in late fall of 2014. The rain gardens were monitored for two years following construction to measure their effectiveness at providing water quality treatment. The rain gardens were each designed with different substrate materials to compare their levels of effectiveness. All three rain gardens succeeded at improving the water quality discharging to Lake Ontario. The two rain gardens that were constructed with enhanced additives were also very effective at removing Phosphorus, which contributes to algae growth at the waterfront. In 2023, The Town of Ajax has planned new rain gardens to be added along Lake Driveway from Finley Avenue to Bartlett Drive to intercept, filter/infiltrate and transpire stormwater runoff.
The full monitoring report is available here:
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