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COMPREHENSIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MASTER PLAN
The City of Orillia has completed the development of a comprehensive stormwater management master plan (CSWM-MP) in accordance with the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Comprehensive Stormwater Management Master Plans in the Lake Simcoe Watershed and the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Process.
Please see the Notice of Completion if you would like to view a hard copy of the master plan, or are interested in commenting on it.
What is stormwater?
Prior to rural or urban development, the natural environment controlled stormwater by natural slopes and grades, vegetation, and the soils ability to allow water to travel downwards through the soil into the water table. Water always flows towards the path of least resistance, creating streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, and lakes. Native soils in Ontario are the result of the movement of glaciers which pushed and deposited boulders, rocks and sand to where we find them today. Depending on the type of soil, water is able to travel down into an area of retention, known as aquifers, or can also seep into streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, and lakes.
In Orillia, stormwater can be defined as precipitation (rainfall or snow) that lands in and travels through developed areas that must be conveyed away from rural, commercial and living areas to avoid potential flooding issues. As development increases, more excess water enters the City's stormwater system as surface runoff. This is due to soil compaction, alteration of the natural slope or grade, and impervious surfaces (like pavement). Climate change is also impacting the duration, frequency and intensity of the storms we are receiving.
Stormwater Management is the process of designing systems that not only convey the excess water away from the surface of a site, but is also the process which ensures the water is of adequate quality before entering streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds, and lakes.
For more information on contributing issues to Stormwater Management please refer to both the Stormwater Management Quality and Quantity sections of our website.
New stormwater rates took effect January 1, 2017.
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