Don River to reconnect with Lake Ontario in Toronto’s Port Lands

The face of Toronto’s Port Lands is about to change forever as the new channel connecting the Don River with Lake Ontario is about to reopen.

Ground broke on the $1.3 billion Port Lands redevelopment in January 2018 to transform the former industrial sector into a mix of residential development, parkland and flood prevention infrastructure. As part of the project, a kilometer-long extension of the Don River was built, but until now the river has not flowed freely.

There are two so-called “plugs” or temporary dams, one at the foot of Lake Ontario and the other upstream. For months, this isolated section of the river has slowly been filling up from the deeper part of the channel, raising the water to where the Don River currently exits into the lake.

The gradual technique was used to protect the newly built elements from erosion and it’s now ready to be removed. A ceremony is set to be held Monday to mark the occasion.

Long-time Toronto ravine and park advocate Floyd Ruskin tells CityNews he’s been stopping by the project every few weeks to watch the progress.

“One of the coolest things that I found is when they were doing the work, they uncovered 100-year-old seeds from plants that we don’t see too often, nurtured them, propagated them and now we planted those native plants back in their original location.”

Both plugs will not be removed at this time. The first to go will be the one at the mouth of Lake Ontario while the other one located upstream will remain in place for at least the next few months.