Toronto's budget $5M short on repair money for spring flood damage
future. The preliminary budget only includes $2 million to fix flood damage,
with the rest of the work being put off until at least 2019, according to city
documents. "That's not good enough," said Coun. Paula Fletcher, whose ward
includes the Port Lands and the Leslie Street Spit. Fletcher says she'll push
for the entire amount — money documents say would be spent on everything from
repairing paths to adding permanent water pumps on Toronto's islands — to be
included in this year's financial plans, which are currently being debated at
public events across the city. Lake Ontario hit its highest levels in 100 years
last spring, creating problems across the length of the city's waterfront while
also severely damaging the islands. The flooding began with April's snowmelt and
was made worse by an exceptionally rainy spring. By May 27, the lake was 43
centimetres above its pre-flood level.
Parks, Forestry and Recreation officials declined an interview about the budget
shortfall, although the documents point out several emergency projects were
completed last year along with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
"Staff continue to work on determining the full extent of the damage and
remediation costs," parks spokesperson Jane Arbour said in an email statement.
That complete list of damages isn't expected until fall of 2018, at which time
staff also hope to present a series of flood mitigation strategies, although
Mayor John Tory's executive committee is expected to get more information at its
next meeting.
Nancy Gaffney, TRCA's waterfront specialist, says many priority projects — the
ones people would notice at places like Humber Bay Park, Marie Curtis Park,
Woodbine Beach and the Scarborough Bluffs — have actually been completed, even
though some had to wait until early October when the water levels finally
receded enough to expose some of the damage. Still, there's work to be done.
"There are a few parks that have shoreline issues," she said.
The shoreline repairs, Gaffney says, may take more time to do. Some work will
have to wait until the spring, when scuba divers can get in the water and
inspect eroding shores near Bluffer's Park and along the western
Beaches breakwall. "We want to make sure that we're not just doing band-aid
fixes everywhere," Gaffney said.
Both the city and TRCA officials will be doing repair work. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
Some repair projects already complete
However, some steps are being taken in case this is another wet summer. In December, the city spent $200,000 to raise the Leuty Lifeguard Station, a Beach icon, by more than a metre.The city did move the Leuty Lifeguard Station this winter to protect it from potentially high lake levels in the future. (Talia Ricci / CBC News)
The city hasn't come up with a full list of everything that was damaged during the flooding. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
