Terraview and Willowfield Stormwater Pond Sediment and Water Quality

Stormwater ponds have been widely used to control increased volumes and rates of surface runoff resulting from urbanization. Stormwater ponds have also been designed to provide multiple other benefits; including protection of downstream waters, sediment and habitat (land/aquatic) quality, provision of educational, recreational use as well as aesthetic amenities. Stormwater ponds create unique opportunities for enhancing community benefits, but they also cause ecological concerns with respect to the quality of the newly created habitat. Stormwater ponds receive untreated runoff from urban areas and transportation corridors, and such runoff transports sediment and pollutants from urban sources into the stormwater facilities. Built in the mid 1990s the Terraview and Willowfield stormwater ponds currently receive water and sediment runoff from 9 hectares of a 16-lane freeway and runoff from 30 hectares of residential lands. This dataset contains stormwater data from two stormwater ponds (Terraview and Willowfield) located within the Toronto and Region Area of concern (AOC). The data are water and sediment chemistry, and are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the two-stormwater ponds in providing a suitable habitat for aquatic species and wildlife species over a two-year period (2007 and 2008). Water and sediment samples were analyzed for trace metals such as calcium, nickel, and lead as well as 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).