LimnoTech

The current river configuration is typical of many urban waterways today.

The design will restore ecological function and create recreational opportunities.

Restoring natural beauty to an urban river

The problem is a familiar one to many large cities: a riverfront area has become the site of urban decay and neglect. How do you restore ecological function and recreational opportunities to the river mouth, while considering traffic flow, floodwater conveyance, and residential, commercial, and industrial uses?

You sponsor a contest and hire the winners.

LimnoTech was part of the winning team recently selected by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation in its Lower Don Land Design competition. The four competing teams included landscape architects, urban planners, and river hydrologists and geomorphologists from around the world.

Nationally known as "river experts," LimnoTech was able to bring its knowledge of how rivers flow and move sediments to a collaborative working relationship with Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, landscape architects, and Great Eastern Ecology, both of New York.

LimnoTech’s scientists and engineers spent an intense two months brainstorming designs and building computer models to test the feasibility of different river and floodway configurations for the Lower Don River. The result is a winding river mouth with natural meanders, wetland margins, wildlife habitat, and abundant recreational opportunities. The plan provides both beauty and function: it can move enough water during powerful spring storms to keep new residential and commercial construction high and dry, and provides sufficient water to nurture the local ecology during summer low flow periods.

The winning team will work over the next two years to refine the design and develop the basic engineering and science required to implement the plan.

The winning design includes a winding river mouth with natural meanders, wetland margins, wildlife habitat, and abundant recreational opportunities.