Don River valley photos show it finally looks like a real river

Each day since last week, pumps have drawn 300 cubic metres of water an hour, 24/7, from Lake Ontario through the Polson Slip.

That’s enough water each hour to fill more than four 40-foot shipping containers, said Don Forbes, Waterfront Toronto’s project director overseeing soil remediation and earthworks.

As of Monday, water appeared to cover the entire 1.3-kilometre valley’s riverbed. 

The armour stones used to lay out the riverbed from the Commissioner Street Bridge to Villiers Street is enough to fill up Roy Thomson Hall, said Forbes. South of that, the riverbed is made up of more gravel than the amount of armour stones used.

According to Waterfront Toronto’s website, the total amount of water to be pumped into the river valley is the equivalent of 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Once the concrete plugs currently separating the river valley from Lake Ontario are removed later this year, Forbes said the river’s deepest point — directly underneath the Cherry Street south bridge — will be 6.5 metres. That is about the depth of two Sugar Beach umbrellas.

At its shallow points, he added, the water will be two metres deep which will be most of its length.

Visitors can see the water from the Commissioners Street Bridge or the Cherry Street South Bridge.

Clarification - Feb. 7, 2024

This article was edited from a previous version to clarify that 300 cubic metres of water an hour being drawn from Lake Ontario is enough to fill more than four 40-foot shipping containers every hour.