E
Ed007Toronto
Guest
"Taddle Creek, which starts west of Bathurst St. and north of St. Clair Ave., roughly where Humewood Park is now, and flows southeast. From U of T, it cuts across University Ave. and through the heart of downtown to Queen St. and eventually into the Don River."
www.thestar.com/News/article/199452
Toronto's hidden rivers TheStar.com - News - Toronto's hidden rivers
Ardent ramblers and mapmakers are rediscovering forgotten rivers that run deep
April 05, 2007
Adam Mayers
Toronto Star
Most of us don't make the connection between wet basements and twisting roads in our neighbourhood, or wonder why some streets come to an abrupt dead end.
Helen Mills did after taking a physical geography course at University of Toronto some years ago, and her curiosity about these "distortions in the urban grid" led her on a journey that has helped create a map of the city's lost rivers and creeks.
These ancient water courses have gradually disappeared from view, filled in by development and diverted into sewers, but they still flow on a lazy journey under our lawns and street, much as they have for thousands of years.
There is a sewer grate in the middle of Philosopher's Walk at U of T between Bloor St. and Hoskin Ave., where the path meanders through a narrow valley. You can lift the grate and hear the sound of running water. It is partly runoff, but the rest is the remains of Taddle Creek, which starts west of Bathurst St. and north of St. Clair Ave., roughly where Humewood Park is now, and flows southeast. From U of T, it cuts across University Ave. and through the heart of downtown to Queen St. and eventually into the Don River.
There are many other streams following channels carved out during the last ice age. They have names like Mud Creek, Walmsley Brook and Cudmore Creek.
Mud Creek, pictured here, also known as Mount Pleasant Brook, starts just east of Downsview Airport and flows southeast, reaching the Don River at the Don Valley Brick Works.
Mills studied philosophy at U of T and after graduation found work as a courier. These days she owns a courier company and an organic gardening service. As she drove around town, she became an expert on street layout, curious about some of the oddities – dead ends, twists and turns, curves and sudden dips and rises.
For years she filled up at a gas station at Sherbourne and Richmond Sts. and wondered why, when she left the station, there was a steep incline and a curved alleyway.
While looking at an aerial photo of the downtown as part of her geography course, she realized the station sat on the remains of a Taddle Creek riverbank.
About 10 years ago, Mills saw a poster for a meeting of a community environmental group, which has evolved into the Toronto Green Committee. One thing led to another and the Green Committee now has ties with the Toronto Field Naturalists, an 80-year-old group devoted to preserving the city's natural heritage.
Together they have set out to find Toronto's lost rivers, map them and explore the related history of each one. It has turned into an ongoing field trip, offering free walking tours with as many as 60 people per group exploring how the streams have become part of the water course.
"The walks are part of an education process," says Mills. "It helps us show people the connection between what's under our feet and what's coming out of the tap."
Some of the streams were filled in by development, but many became incorporated into the city sewer system.
By the mid-1830s, Toronto was a town of 10,000 people, without any sanitation, and called "Muddy York" for good reason. It was a dirty, smelly, filthy place, choking on its own refuse. Rivers, streams and the harbour were repositories for garbage, human and animal sewage and dead animals.
Along with the filth came disease. The contaminated water courses led to several cholera epidemics. Francis Collins, founder of the Canadian Freeman newspaper in 1825, wrote of the harbour: "All the filth of the town – dead horses, dogs, cats, manure – drops down into the water, which is used by almost all the inhabitants on the shore." Ironically, Collins died during the city's cholera epidemic in 1834.
By the later half of the 19th century, everyone agreed that sanitation and clean drinking water were vital to Toronto's well-being. The city began building water filtration plants and a sewer system. It made sense to use the old streams and creeks, since they follow the natural topography.
Parts of Taddle Creek were buried at different times, with those closest to the downtown covered first. The section east of Church St. was enclosed before 1860, while the Philosopher's Walk creek was filled in in 1886.
Mills says local politicians opted to combine storm and sanitary sewers against the advice of the city engineering department, because it was cheaper than two separate systems. It worked well enough until heavy rain overwhelmed the sewers, spilling sewage and rainwater onto the street. The problem persists and explains why summer storms can close city beaches.
"We're still paying for that decision," Mills says.
There is a full slate of weekend walking tours in April, a good time to get out when it's not too hot and spring runoff makes the streams more visible. Lost Rivers has a terrific website, with details of the walks and related history.
Looking Back appears every two weeks.
Lost Rivers walking tours
Lost river walking tours are free and are about two hours long with varying degrees of difficulty. They usually take place on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, weather permitting.
For a full list of times and locations, go to: www.lostrivers.ca
For more on the Toronto Green Community, go to: www.ntgc.ca
For more on the Toronto Field Naturalists, go to: www.torontofieldnaturalists.org
www.thestar.com/News/article/199452
Toronto's hidden rivers TheStar.com - News - Toronto's hidden rivers
Ardent ramblers and mapmakers are rediscovering forgotten rivers that run deep
April 05, 2007
Adam Mayers
Toronto Star
Most of us don't make the connection between wet basements and twisting roads in our neighbourhood, or wonder why some streets come to an abrupt dead end.
Helen Mills did after taking a physical geography course at University of Toronto some years ago, and her curiosity about these "distortions in the urban grid" led her on a journey that has helped create a map of the city's lost rivers and creeks.
These ancient water courses have gradually disappeared from view, filled in by development and diverted into sewers, but they still flow on a lazy journey under our lawns and street, much as they have for thousands of years.
There is a sewer grate in the middle of Philosopher's Walk at U of T between Bloor St. and Hoskin Ave., where the path meanders through a narrow valley. You can lift the grate and hear the sound of running water. It is partly runoff, but the rest is the remains of Taddle Creek, which starts west of Bathurst St. and north of St. Clair Ave., roughly where Humewood Park is now, and flows southeast. From U of T, it cuts across University Ave. and through the heart of downtown to Queen St. and eventually into the Don River.
There are many other streams following channels carved out during the last ice age. They have names like Mud Creek, Walmsley Brook and Cudmore Creek.
Mud Creek, pictured here, also known as Mount Pleasant Brook, starts just east of Downsview Airport and flows southeast, reaching the Don River at the Don Valley Brick Works.
Mills studied philosophy at U of T and after graduation found work as a courier. These days she owns a courier company and an organic gardening service. As she drove around town, she became an expert on street layout, curious about some of the oddities – dead ends, twists and turns, curves and sudden dips and rises.
For years she filled up at a gas station at Sherbourne and Richmond Sts. and wondered why, when she left the station, there was a steep incline and a curved alleyway.
While looking at an aerial photo of the downtown as part of her geography course, she realized the station sat on the remains of a Taddle Creek riverbank.
About 10 years ago, Mills saw a poster for a meeting of a community environmental group, which has evolved into the Toronto Green Committee. One thing led to another and the Green Committee now has ties with the Toronto Field Naturalists, an 80-year-old group devoted to preserving the city's natural heritage.
Together they have set out to find Toronto's lost rivers, map them and explore the related history of each one. It has turned into an ongoing field trip, offering free walking tours with as many as 60 people per group exploring how the streams have become part of the water course.
"The walks are part of an education process," says Mills. "It helps us show people the connection between what's under our feet and what's coming out of the tap."
Some of the streams were filled in by development, but many became incorporated into the city sewer system.
By the mid-1830s, Toronto was a town of 10,000 people, without any sanitation, and called "Muddy York" for good reason. It was a dirty, smelly, filthy place, choking on its own refuse. Rivers, streams and the harbour were repositories for garbage, human and animal sewage and dead animals.
Along with the filth came disease. The contaminated water courses led to several cholera epidemics. Francis Collins, founder of the Canadian Freeman newspaper in 1825, wrote of the harbour: "All the filth of the town – dead horses, dogs, cats, manure – drops down into the water, which is used by almost all the inhabitants on the shore." Ironically, Collins died during the city's cholera epidemic in 1834.
By the later half of the 19th century, everyone agreed that sanitation and clean drinking water were vital to Toronto's well-being. The city began building water filtration plants and a sewer system. It made sense to use the old streams and creeks, since they follow the natural topography.
Parts of Taddle Creek were buried at different times, with those closest to the downtown covered first. The section east of Church St. was enclosed before 1860, while the Philosopher's Walk creek was filled in in 1886.
Mills says local politicians opted to combine storm and sanitary sewers against the advice of the city engineering department, because it was cheaper than two separate systems. It worked well enough until heavy rain overwhelmed the sewers, spilling sewage and rainwater onto the street. The problem persists and explains why summer storms can close city beaches.
"We're still paying for that decision," Mills says.
There is a full slate of weekend walking tours in April, a good time to get out when it's not too hot and spring runoff makes the streams more visible. Lost Rivers has a terrific website, with details of the walks and related history.
Looking Back appears every two weeks.
Lost Rivers walking tours
Lost river walking tours are free and are about two hours long with varying degrees of difficulty. They usually take place on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, weather permitting.
For a full list of times and locations, go to: www.lostrivers.ca
For more on the Toronto Green Community, go to: www.ntgc.ca
For more on the Toronto Field Naturalists, go to: www.torontofieldnaturalists.org
