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TOP 50 PROJECT
Some of this work, including several shafts, is already finished,
with Toronto Water projecting full program completion by 2038.
Given its massive scope, coupled with ongoing economic turmoil,
however, further delays can’t be ruled out. In fact, timeline and cost
have arguably been the toughest challenges thus far. The COVID
pandemic slowed progress through 2020, and global supply
chain bottlenecks and post-pandemic inflation drove projected
costs upwards, from $2.5 billion in 2019 to the current $3.7
billion, with funding coming almost entirely from Toronto Water
revenues. “Pricing has been jumping all over the place, particularly
on these higher risk and bigger projects,” Di Gironimo says, noting
that tariffs and trade pressures stand to deepen the impact. “We’re
starting to see a lot of uncertainty with contractors. They don’t
want to take on the [longer-term] risks.”
To address the uncertainties, Toronto Water has moved
cautiously and methodically. “That’s part of the reason why we’re
proceeding in phases with the pumping station,” Di Gironimo
explains, noting that smaller jobs are less risky to bid on than are
larger, bundled ones. “It takes more time because we have a series
of contracts to let instead of one big one, but it manages the risk
for everybody along the way.” Di Gironimo adds that individual
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WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2025
segments might possibly be delayed should other, more urgent
water related needs arise, but he expresses optimism the program
will remain on schedule.
In fact, some components could be pressed into service and
working to reduce overflows in as little as eight to ten years
because the design is somewhat scaleable. “The UV building
should be commissioned and operational at the end of this
year, and we can use that right away because we could use the
existing flow, which currently goes through an old outfall,” Di
Gironimo says. “The new outfall could also go into service once
the UV building is operational.” However, the new pumping
station, slated for completion in about eight years, needs to be
operational to handle flows from the Coxwell Bypass and, when
they’re completed, the other two tunnels. “The pumping station
is our lynchpin. If we get that out to tender later this year or
early next year and the price is fine, we can proceed.” The same
goes for the high-rate wet weather flow treatment plant, which is
currently in design.
The program has also experienced considerable technical
challenges, with tunnelling at the top of the list. Crews used a
boring machine big enough to have a nickname—Donnie—
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Black and Veatch
“While large wastewater projects are common enough, what makes the Don River and
CentralWaterfrontWetWeatherFlowSystemprogramstandoutisthebiggerpicture
ofinterconnectivitybetweenthenewtreatmentandmanagementsystems.”
