Connect the Drops in Pinecrest Creek

This tour will connect the drops between your property, your neighbourhood, Pinecrest Creek and the Ottawa River

Connect the Drops

Welcome to the online stormwater tour of Pinecrest Creek and Westboro Beach!

This tour will connect the drops between your property, your neighbourhood, Pinecrest Creek and the Ottawa River

The story includes:

  • What is stormwater? An overview of impacts and solutions
  • Pinecrest Creek – a snapshot of an urban neighbourhood
  • How is stormwater managed in the Pinecrest Creek subwatershed?
  • The Pinecrest Neighborhood Rain project - every action makes a difference
  • What can residents do? Learn how you can be part of the solution to slow it down, soak it up and keep it clean

Ottawa is a city of rivers and creeks

How does city development affect waterways?

As cities grow, surfaces such as grass, fields and forests are replaced by roads, buildings and parking lots. Water flow is altered.

Hard surfaces prevent rain water from soaking into the ground or being absorbed by plants. Instead, water runs off hard surfaces and flows through pipes to local streams and rivers.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Heavy rain can cause waterways to swell with fast-moving water that can erode streambanks degrading fish habitat and threatening property and infrastructure.

Want to know more?

Watch a short  video  about the water cycle and stormwater 


Managing stormwater in older urban areas 

The City is retrofitting older neighbourhoods to better manage uncontrolled stormwater runoff. A range of solutions called a treatment train attempts to mimic the natural processes:

Lot-level or source controls such as rain gardens or permeable paving manage rain where it fall

Courtesy of: Chris Denich

Conveyance controls such as bio-swales or roadside rain gardens manage stormwater as it flows to pipes and waterways.

End-of-pipe measures such as ponds treat stormwater before it is discharged into our local waterways. 

Photo credits: Valley Conservation, ASLA Honor Award by Kevin Robert Perry, City of Ottawa


Pinecrest Creek Subwatershed

Stormwater impacts in Pinecrest

Pinecrest Creek receives untreated stormwater from 25,000 homes and buildings across 20 different neighbourhoods.

With the loss of small streams, water flows differently.

The creek has a flashy response to rain. During a small rainfall event (about 10mm), flow speeds can triple in less than 15 minutes and erosive forces can increase by over 450 per cent.

The Pinecrest Creek subwatershed was identified as priority site for stormwater management retrofit in the Ottawa River Action Plan.

Pinecrest Creek/Westboro Retrofit Plan

The Pinecrest Creek/ Westboro Stormwater Management Retrofit study was completed in 2011.

The 50 year plan includes solutions to improve the health of the creek, minimize flooding risks and reduce beach closures:

  • Bio-retention and permeable parking lots on City properties
  • Green streets to be installed as roads are reconstructed
  • A stormwater management pond to treat runoff from 435 hectares south-east of Baseline Road and Woodroffe Avenue
  • Encouraging homeowners and businesses to install rain gardens and rain barrels on their property

Courtesy of: Chris Denich

Be part of the solution!

Improving the health of the Pinecrest Creek needs solutions at every part of the treatment train from rain to river, and on both public and private property.

More than 40% of the Pinecrest Creek subwatershed is residential homes.

While action on one individual property may not appear to make a difference, there is a cumulative benefit when many homeowners participate.

Fun Fact: Close to 3,000 homeowner projects in Philadelphia’s Rain Check Program keep 7.5 million gallons of water out of the storm sewer system for every inch of rain that falls (phillywatersheds.ca).

Redirect your downspout to permeable surfaces such as grass or gardens

Use rain barrels to collect rainfall for later use – make sure to drain before next rain

Plant trees and shrubs - trees slow the volume of rain by 30 per cent

Build a rain garden to encourage infiltration into the ground

Use paving stones or permeable paving in place of asphalt

Depave – replace unused asphalt with grass or gardens

Never pour anything down a storm sewer - they drain to local waterways

Pickup after your pets and build a pet waste digester

Wash your car at a car wash instead of your driveway

Use compost instead of chemical fertilizer

Use non-toxic alternatives to salt for traction

Use public ash trays

Get Involved!

Visit the  Pinecrest RAIN Project webpage  to stay informed about upcoming activities.

Check out your property – where does water flow when it rains? What steps can you take to help slow it downsoak it up and keep it clean?

Discover Pinecrest Creek - take a walk or bike ride along the pathway and check out the interpretive signs on the impacts of stormwater.

Contact a local community association or environmental group to participate in a clean-up or monitoring event