Interim Targets
Current and past interim RAP targets are provided in the table below.
Clean Waters
| 2002-2007 | 2007-2012 |
| Wet Weather Flow | |
| Support scheduled implementation of the City of Toronto's Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan (WWFMMP)-Phase I | Support the City of Toronto by furthering their work on implementing eight key projects under the WWFMMP to clean up the waterfront by working to obtain additional federal and provincial funding and providing technical assistance. These projects include:
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| Increase grassroots involvement in WWFMMP implementation (e.g., through community delivery funding program) | Increase grassroots involvement in the implementation of the City of Toronto's Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan through the Community Program for Stormwater Management |
| Stormwater Management | |
| Complete and commence implementation of stormwater retrofit strategies in middle and upper portions of the watershed | Support municipalities in the upper watersheds to implement retrofitting of stormwater management facilities and outfalls for water quantity and quality purposes. |
| Provide technical support through TRCA staff for identification and stormwater retrofits or new stormwater opportunities within the upper municipalities. | |
| Develop and initiate next generation Stormwater Assessment and Monitoring Performance (SWAMP) Program, including assessments of stormwater optimization at the sub-watershed level, and the severity of impacts of suspended sediment | (SWAMP became STEP, see below) |
| Sustainable Technologies and Best Management Practices | |
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Continue to support the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) as the Program is used to investigate new technologies that mitigate the impacts of stormwater and intensification. Projects will include:
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| Support TRCA and partners in their ongoing efforts to educate and assist urban and rural landowners with the implementation of best management practices for households, businesses, and industries | |
| Support TRCA and partners in their efforts to promote the adoption of Low Impact Development approaches and efforts to restore and maintain water balance at a site level | |
| Spills Management | |
| Support the development and implementation of a multi-stakeholder strategy to enhance watershed and waterfront spills prevention and response programs consistent with the new interagency habitat compliance protocol | Support the development of a Spill Response Decision Support System (web-based tool) to aid in the prevention and mitigation of spills. TRCA will continue to work with municipal partners and other agencies to prevents spills and improve spills response |
| Complete GIS sewershed management database | (Incorporated into above) |
| Beaches | |
| Encourage and provide support for the City of Toronto to develop and implement Integrated Beach Management Strategies for all waterfront beaches with a goal of increasing the number of beaches with Blue Flag designation | |
Healthy Habitats
| 2002-2007 | 2007-2012 |
| Terrestrial Habitat | |
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Support the regeneration of terrestrial habitat to meet targets established in the Terrestrial Natural Heritage Strategy (TNHS), Watershed Strategies, and Habitat Implementation Plans (HIPs) |
| Support incorporation of the TNHSS into municipal official plans | Support the incorporation of the TNHS into municipal Official Plans |
| Refine the TNHS at the watershed scale | |
| Support the development of a methodology and framework to be applied when determining compensation for land development | |
| Support the development of the Recovery Planning Project that will prioritize ecosystem restoration and identify opportunities that will offer the greatest ecological benefit | |
| Riparian Regeneration | |
| Regenerate stream corridors to meet targets established in Watershed Strategies and WWFMMP (e.g. 23% of Etobicoke-Mimico by 2006) | Support the regeneration of stream corridors to meet targets established in Watershed Strategies and Habitat Implementation Plans (HIPs) |
| Complete evaluations of historic and existing Area of Concern wetlands in the Area of Concern?s watersheds | |
| Support development of the Riparian Reforestation Strategy and implementation of priority sites | |
| Aquatic Habitat | |
| Complete fisheries management plans, including multi-year implementation schedules - for all watersheds: Humber; Etobicoke and Mimico Creeks; Don River; Highland Creek; and Rouge River | Complete and implement fish management plans in all watersheds |
| Connect the Rouge River from Lake Ontario to Major Mackenzie Drive for all native species of the watershed | |
| Connect the Humber River from Lake Ontario to Highway 9 for all native species | Mitigate barriers for native fish species (non-jumpers) in the Humber River |
| Spawning surveys to be completed and road culverts to be assessed in the Humber headwaters in preparation for Atlantic Salmon re-introductions | |
| Waterfront | |
| Complete the Toronto Waterfront Aquatic Habitat Restoration Strategy and implement priority plans and projects | Support the implementation of priority projects as identified in Aquatic Habitat Toronto (formerly referred to as: Toronto Waterfront Aquatic Habitat Restoration Strategy) (i.e. Spadina Slip, Central Waterfront (West Eight), Lake Ontario Park, East Bayfront, Lower Donlands) |
| Complete the Terrestrial Natural Heritage Strategy for the Toronto waterfront | |
| Wetlands | |
| Support the restoration of wetlands to meet targets established in the Habitat Implementation Plans (HIPs) | |
| Undertake post construction assessment of created wetlands to determine design options and management recommendations for future created urban wetlands | |
| Develop wetland restoration projects in the upper Rouge and Humber watersheds through the Ontario Headwaters Restoration Initiative | |
| Complete the final phase of the Rouge Marshes rehabilitation | |
| Support the Construction of the Newbury Park wetland in the Rouge River watershed | |
Science and Monitoring
| 2002-2007 | 2007-2012 |
| Monitoring | |
| Provide ongoing, necessary information to assess the health of watersheds and waterfront ecosystems in the Area of Concern through regular reporting | Report on the watershed health in the Area of Concern |
| Sustain integrated monitoring network for watersheds and the waterfront with federal, provincial, municipal and academic partners |
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| Continue to collect samples from 10 locations, in 6 tributaries (Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek, Humber River, Don River, Rouge River and Highland Creek) to determine concentrations and loading estimates of priority contaminants to the nearshore of Lake Ontario in the Toronto and Region AOC | |
| Continue sediment and water sampling to study concentrations of current-use chemicals in the Toronto and Region waterfront | |
| Conduct a pilot study on Etobicoke Creek to continuously monitor water quality during storm events (capturing peak flows and "first-flush" levels) | |
| Continue the Etobicoke Creek PCB trackdown project by investigating a potential local hotspot to determine if this area is acting as a source of bioavaliable PCBs to the watershed | |
| Beneficial Use Impairments | |
| Complete assessment of beneficial uses: Fish Tumours and Other Deformities; Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproductive Problems; Degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations | |
| Complete analysis of a 15 year fisheries data series for the Toronto Waterfront to help in the revision of objectives for the nearshore aquatic community | |
| Develop Interim Targets and continue to develop and assess long-term ecological end-points and specific targets | |
| Complete the assessment of all impaired beneficial uses including: status of, gap analysis of information, indicators of progress (action and environmental conditions) and monitoring data, and, where possible, determine environmental endpoints | |
| Complete the 2002-2007 Toronto and Region RAP Progress Report | |
Sustainable Watersheds
| 2002-2007 | 2007-2012 |
| Support the development of new or next generation watershed strategies for the Rouge (2004), Highland and Humber, Don, and Etobicoke and Mimico - (Watershed strategies will address source water protection, water balance, quality and quantity, and the integration of ground water study information | Support the development of Integrated Watershed Management Plans for the Don and Etobicoke-Mimico, and the implementation of the Integrated Watershed Management Plans for the Rouge and Humber Rivers |
| Enhance and sustain the Watershed Council based implementation model | Support the use of established mechanisms such as watershed plans, task forces, councils and alliances to identify policies and facilitate projects which contribute to successful watershed protection, RAP implementation and the attainment of COA and Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement targets |
| Support the development and implementation of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation's Waterfront Sustainability Framework | |
| Support the City of Toronto to integrate the Highland Creek Geomorphic Master Plan, the WWFMMP, and other plans to provide comprehensive direction for management of Highland Creek (A Green Strategy for Highland Creek) | |
| Support TRCA and partners as they continue studies and evaluations that contribute to the development of technologies and strategies with helps mitigate the impacts of growth in the Toronto and Region AOC | |
| Encourage and support the development of Eco-Industrial Networking opportunities within the AOC |
Education and Involvement
| 2002-2007 | 2007-2012 |
| Develop and implement the Toronto RAP Communications Strategy including a redesigned website, information folio, and display |
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| Sustain key education and community stewardship initiatives (e.g., Watersheds on Wheels) | Sustain key education and community stewardship initiatives (e.g., Watersheds on Wheels, etc) including tree planting on private land and the development of Environmental Farm Plans |
| Support the development of social marketing tools (e.g., The Living City Report Card and Sustainable Communities Charrette) | |
| Support TRCA and partners to increase the engagement of citizens and businesses in lot-level stormwater management, water conservation, reduction in use of and proper disposal of household and garden chemicals | |
| Facilitate the transfer of technology (i.e. construction of green technologoes, improved erosion control measures) to local municipal staff, developers, etc. |
