Richview Reservoir Rehabilitation

The City of Toronto is carrying out waterproofing and structure rehabilitation work on the Richview Reservoir at Richview Park. These necessary upgrades will help to ensure the structural integrity of the reservoir, extend its service life and bring the reservoir to a state of good repair. This work is expected to be completed in December 2024.

A portion of the west parking lot and the entire south parking lot will be closed for the duration of the project.

Important Information

Construction Process

There are two large basins that store drinking water in this reservoir, a North and South basin. Each basin will be rehabilitated separately and will include work both inside the basin and on the basin’s exterior. While one basin is being rehabilitated, the other basin will continue operating. The following key activities will take place during the rehabilitation:

Drain the water inside the basin and remove the park fixtures, trees and soil on the exterior. Most of the soil that is removed will be stored in the parking lots areas.
Assess the walls, ceilings, ground and columns for damage inside the reservoir and remove the existing waterproofing membrane from the roof of the reservoir
Carry out repairs inside the reservoir, repair any cracks on the reservoir’s exterior or roof and apply a new waterproofing membrane
Fill the reservoir back up with drinking water for normal operations
When repairs to both the North and South basins are completed, restoration activities such as laying soil, grass and installing park fixtures will take place.

Upgrades and repairs to additional reservoir facilities such as the pumping station, valve house, storm water sewer, underground chambers, electrical and mechanical upgrades for new valves and new standby generator will be done. The underground drain around the northern perimeter of the North basin will be rehabilitated as well.

Removing the waterproofing membrane from a reservoir

Removing old large valves from a reservoir

The waterproofing membrane on top of a reservoir has many layers

Construction Schedule

Work will start on the North basin from Fall 2021
The South basin work will start in Fall 2022
Site restoration will take place in Fall 2023

Site restoration, such as laying soil and grass, installing park fixtures and planting trees, is weather dependent and expected to take 6 months after the reservoir rehabilitation is completed.

Construction Work Hours & Weather

Work hours follow City bylaw and will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Weekend or evening work may be required to stay on schedule; the City will provide advance notice by email through the project mailing list. Work to rehabilitate the exterior of the reservoir is dependent on weather, especially for activities on the waterproofing membrane and repairing any cracks or damage.

Similar to other reservoir rehabilitation projects, the schedule will be closely followed in order to determine if additional work hours are required in order to recoup any time lost due to weather and stay on track to complete the project in December 2024.

Park Access During Construction

Public access to the remaining park space not affected by construction can be accessed by the nearby streets. Parks will continue to issue permits for the remaining soccer fields.

Impacts to Park Trees

Tree Protection Zones. Fence surrounds trees. — Tree Protection Zones

Approximately 387 trees are required to be removed from the active work zone, on top of the reservoir basin and the slopes. About 18 trees will be monitored for minimal injury and 34 trees will have Tree Protection Zones.

About 95 trees and 355 shrubs will be replanted once work on the basins is completed. No new trees will be replanted on top or on the slopes of the reservoir in order to prevent tree roots from potentially impacting the waterproofing membrane.

News & Updates

Map

While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is no text alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding our maps, drawings, or any other content, please contact us at richview@toronto.ca.

Map of work site for the Richview Reservoir rehabilitation

Short URL for this web page is toronto.ca/richview