Don Head East Pond and Valleyland Rehabilitation

Project Background

The City of Richmond Hill is undertaking the Don Head East Stormwater Pond and Valleyland Rehabilitation Environmental Assessment (“Study”) to determine the best means of rehabilitating the Don Head East Stormwater Management Pond, stream erosion sites and to assess maintenance improvements for the adjacent Pioneer Park Stormwater Management Pond.

The study area is situated along the North Richvale Greenway system (see map). The study will evaluate a range of alternatives to determine the best rehabilitation solution to improve water quality, erosion and prevent flooding in the area.

The Don Head East facility was originally constructed in the early 1980s as part of the Don Head Village subdivision, south of Major MacKenzie Drive between Bathurst Street and Yonge Street. The facility receives drainage from the surrounding residential homes, as well as upstream drainage conveyed by the Upper East Don River, a total of more than 800 hectares. The section of river within this valleyland has experienced issues such as erosion, debris jams and inadequate fish passage.

The need to rehabilitate the facility and associated valleyland has been identified in a number of studies and maintenance and inspection activities conducted by the City. 

The study started as a Schedule B Environmental Assessment, but as the project progressed, new information was made available and the complexity of the feasible solutions was reduced, and the City has determined that this study is a feasibility study instead of a Schedule B Environmental Assessment. This means that the planned public open house will not proceed and additional notices will not be sent out.

Public Communications and Consultation