Don Watcher's 2nd Blogiversary

For what it's worth, I have now been contributing to this blog for two years now. On July 30, 2005 I posted some pictures about a brush fire in the Don. Since then I have made 286 posts averaging nearly 3 posts per week. The blog gets about 250-300 hits per week. While I don't get many comments they have generated referrals and contacts for several other blogs, a couple of newspaper articles and one video documentary. I like to think that "Don Watcher" has contributed to the education about the Don River and its watershed and the issues that confront it.

I still enjoy posting and I expect to continue for at least another year. We'll see how it goes.

Announcing...

The Lower Don Trail will be re-opening on Saturday August 11. The trail has been closed for vital construction work to increase the flood capacity underneath the railway bridge just north of Lakeshore Blvd. The completion of this work (and the construction of a berm on the west side of the river) will mean that the restrictions on construction in the West Don Lands will be lifted allowing that development to proceed.

The first two estimates of May then July were not met due to construction issues mostly due to scheduling difficulties timing between separate sub-projects. The August 11 date is the first time that an actual date has been mentioned so I am crossing my fingers and announcing it. Here's hoping that in two weeks it will be a go!

Riverdale Ponds Get a Breather

Aerator installed at Riverdale Farm

The Lower Don has very few ponds so the presence of the two ponds at Riverdale Farm offers a welcome respite for passing waterfowl and other wildlife. The prevailing theory is that they are oxbow lakes, created when the Don River used to meander over the floodplain, before the so-called Don Improvement project which straightened the river in the late 19th century.

During the period when they were part of the old Riverdale Zoo, water was pumped in via a fountain in the upper pond. The ponds were home to captive geese and swans. In the mid 1970s the zoo was relocated to a large facility in eastern Scarborough in the Rouge River watershed. Since then the ponds have languished, mostly unused except as a dumping ground for koi and red-eared slider turtles.

The ponds were until recently fed by tap water but about five years ago this flow was shut off. While the result is more natural, the low flow situation has resulted in the ponds completely covered by duckweed by mid summer. In addition a large amount of decomposing leaf litter at the bottom of the ponds has resulted in anoxic conditions which means that very little aquatic life inhabits the ponds.

Enter the idea for the pond aerator. Basically it blows air bubbles into the water. The theory is that the air will partially dissolve into the water which will not only make it more livable for aquatic organisms but also accelerate the decomposition process of the accumulated leaf litter. Currently the aerator is only turned on at night.

Don't expect any overnight changes. The current conditions have been created by several years of neglect - it may take a year or two before any changes become noticeable. While not the greatest solution, it is still a solution, ie. something to be tried. And you can't fault them for that.



Aerator is turned on only at night, thus the poor quality of this photograph

The Other Construction Project

Location of Construction Project, just west of the Ontario Science Centre in E.T. Seton Park

While I have been focusing recently on the projects at the mouth of the Don, I have also been keeping my eye on another construction project on the west Don that involves a minor reroute of the river. As I reported in January, the project is a year long effort to stop the river from eroding a steep embankment that threatens to undermine a neighbouring factory at the top of slope. The project involves three phases, dig a new river channel, open up the new channel and close down the old channel, and shore up the eroding bank.


The northern path has been widened to accommodate construction vehicles.

As of July, it appears the project is behind schedule as they are still working on the first phase. The new channel is almost finished. The southern path which includes two bridges has been temporarily closed and the northern path has been reopened, although access may be restricted as they are also using this for construction vehicle access.


New pedestrian bridge on southern path

A new pedestrian bridge has just been installed over the new channel. When I visited the site in early July the new channel has been excavated but they are still testing its ability to retain and hold the river. Some construction equipment has been move to the opposite bank but the river is still using the current channel. I'll keep an eye on it and update you when anything new occurs.


Construction crew pumps water into new channel. I noticed the next day that it had drained away. As of early July the new channel hasn't been opened.

Don River Flood Videos

No sooner did I post my first Don River video on YouTube than I get the opportunity to post my second (and third) video, at the same site! The torrential downpour Thursday morning resulted in a rapid up-swelling of the Don River. By the afternoon there was a lull in the weather so I hopped on my bicycle and zipped over to the valley. It occurred to me that a video at the Pottery Road weir would make a nice contrast to the video I took last week.

As you can see, I wasn't able to use the same vantage point as it was submerged. The video dramatically displays the power of the river and how a heavy rainfall (or wet weather flow event in the planning lexicon), can change a relatively placid watercourse into a raging torrent.

The video easily encapsulates the problems facing the river, brought on by the intensive urbanization of the watershed. As water surges through the small streams that lead into the Don, they scour the banks and stream beds of mud and debris - and it all ends up here in the Don.

My third video is from the same time. While I was watching the water I saw this big tree approach. I took this video of the tree going over the weir, the river handled it just like another twig.

Don River Video

Most of the videos I have seen for the Don have been about mountain biking or bicycle stunts in the Don. I have also found a some pretty amateurish stuff posted on YouTube including "The Don River Project".

Alas, nothing on the natural environment, until now. Using my new Canon Powershot A530 which has a video function, I am experimenting with some of my own content. My first effort involves a minute long film that looks at the weir just north of Pottery Road. A dam for an old mill (now long gone) was blocking fish travel. The TRCA modified some years ago by placing step like rapids for 100 m downstream. This allows fish such as Atlantic Salmon to venture north to spawning grounds (that is if the river ever becomes clean enough to support them!).

"Don River Cascade" is 61 seconds long. Just click on the big video icon and it should display in your browser or your default media viewer.