​Newmarket recently won a Healthy Water Award from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority for our work on the Western Creek, in Partnership with York Region that protects the Lake Simcoe watershed.

The Healthy Water Award is presented to individuals and groups who have completed a project that improves, supports, or protects the water quality in the Lake Simcoe watershed. This project addressed watercourse erosion that would impact York Region's sanitary sewer on Town of Newmarket property.

The project, in collaboration with the LSRCA and York Region was initiated to stabilize the Western Creek bank in order to protect an underground sanitary infrastructure that was adjacent to the area. Approximately a 60m section of Western Creek was restored and stabilized through the project. The work included:

• Encasing an existing sanitary sewer pipe with concrete

• Replacing an existing concrete retaining wall that had failed with armourstone

• Regrading the banks of Western Creek

• Constructing a vegetated rock buttress on the side slopes

• Installing 3 rock vortex weirs to promote fish passage

• Stabilizing the channel substrates by lining the channel bottom with coarse materials. 
  

Completing this project ensures the risk of damage and failure of the sanitary pipe into the natural environment is mitigated, as well the section of watercourse has been naturalize providing improved fish habitat and access, and reduced risk of bank erosion.

This project supports Council's priority in Environmental Sustainability in order to preserve our environmental assets and addressing climate change for future generations.

Learn more about the Healthy Water Award at: https://lsrca.on.ca/index.php/about-us/conservation-awards/healthy-water-award/