the lake", but drawn from under rock deep in the bed of the lake. There is an East and a West Intake; 2,450 millimetre diameter concrete lined steel intake pipes. The intake mouths are located approximately 2,650 meters from shore in 15 meters of water. Prior to entering the plant, the two pipes join into a junction shaft, which is a 3,050 mm diameter tunnel in rock below the bed of the lake about 1,000 meters in length. Once treated, the plant then pumps water to various reservoirs throughout the City of Toronto and the Region of York.
Here's how it works
Construction Update: New Reside Management Facility
Beaches residents are looking forward to the end of construction at the R.C. plant. Since November 2004, the plant has been undergoing significant renovations. This has made the building only partially publicly accessible. The front field is open once more.
The construction - although disruptive - represents very good news for the environment. When the plant was first constructed in the 1930's, it was common practice to discharge residues collected from the water back to the source (the Lake). Today, new provincial regulations require that all waste produced during the filtration process be treated. This new practice will contribute to the City's efforts to improve the local waterfront and fulfill its requirements to the province. It also means that water being returned to the lake is cleaner than before it was removed!
The project involves the construction of facilities (settling tanks) to treat the backwash and settling basin wastewater. This work involved the excavation of an area larger than two (Canadian) football fields in order to create a space for underground tanks.
The project will not affect the heritage features of the building. The new facility will be built underground, invisible from the plant surface. Once the project is complete, the site grading and landscaping will be
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