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.
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
For more information read the 2011 Pinecrest Creek/ Westboro Stormwater Management Retrofit Study
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 down, soak 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