Toronto Works and Emergency Services
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Toronto Works and Emergency Services department was responsible for a variety of services.
The division reported to a deputy city manager and with the new executive committee it will report to Glenn De Baeremaeker, chair of Public Works and Infrastructure committee.
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[edit] Water
Toronto maintains a network of water filtration plants, pumping stations and reservoirs providing water to the city of Toronto. Some facilities are located outside the city, namely in York Region.
See more at Toronto Water
[edit] Sewage
In the past waste water was dumped back into the lake and thus caused the waters off Toronto to become polluted. Since then the city has treated water from households, industry and rain before entering the Lake Ontario.
Most of the sewage treatment facilities are located along the lake and sludge is sent to dumps and to other facilities in the province:
- Ashbridge's Bay Waste Treatment Plant
- Humber Bay Waste Treatment Plant
- North Toronto Waste Treatment Plant
- Highland Creek Waste Treatment Plant
- Dee Avenue Laboratory
Public works projects initiated by the city involves items like repairing sewers, water networks, and maintaining city facilities.
There are approximately 1600 storm sewers that drain rainwater to creeks in rivers in the city. Accidental runoff from sanitary sewers have led to severe pollution in a number of water ways.
Critical waterways used to drain water in the city include:
- Humber River
- Don River
- Highland Creek
- Massey Creek
- Etobicoke Creek
- Black Creek
[edit] Solid Waste Management
The city's Solid Waste Management is responsible for picking up litter and recycling in the city. Most of the services are public with Etobicoke contracted out due to previously signed by the former City of Etobicoke:
- Bermondsey Transfer
- Commissioner Street Transfer
- Disco Transfer
- Dufferin
- Ingram
- Scarborough
- Victoria Park
- Public Works Yards
- Booth
- Disco
- Ellesmere Yard
- Etobicoke Civic Centre
- Ingram
- King Street
- Central
- Bermondsey
- Scarborough Transfer
- Yonge Street
The city once owned sanitation dumps, but waste is now shipped to Michigan. A list of some of the dumps used in past:
- Carleton Farms - Michigan
- Green Lane - St. Thomas, Ontario - pending 90-day review
- Brock Road in Pickering - closed
- Keele Valley in Vaughan - closed
- Islington and Finch - closed
- Beare Road - closed
A list of waste management programs applied in Toronto:
As of April 2005, the departments and commissioners were replaced by divisions under the City Manager (and Deputy Managers):
[edit] Snow Removal
Toronto has budget money and resources for salting and plowing city roads in winter. There are 600 snowplows and 300 sidewalk snow removal equipment run by 1300 personnel.
[edit] Fleet
- Sterling Trucks Accetra heavy duty trucks
- Peterbilt 357 dump trucks
- Mack Trucks/Ford road sweepers
- Heil Environmental Industries Limited Formula 7000 Square Body side loader garbage trucks
- Allianz Series 3000 street sweepers
- Ride on street vacuums
[edit] Reorganization
The current structure is as follows:
- Toronto Technical Services Division - environmental, emergency and engineering
- Toronto Support Services Division - planning, financing and administration
Toronto Water is a new body responsible for water and sewage treatment in the city.
The department was formed the merger of the public works departments of each of the municipalities and with Metro Toronto Works Department).