A natural filtration system, set to become one of North America’s largest bioswales networks, is currently under construction in Port Credit, Mississauga, within the Brightwater waterfront community.
Beyond mitigating floods, the bioswales system at Brightwater aims to rejuvenate the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Port Credit. Bioswales systems function as nature’s filters for rainwater and pollutants that typically find their way into lakes and rivers.
The system is projected to process and filter 300 million litres (79 million gal) of water over the next decade, safeguarding Lake Ontario from pollutants. The engineering behind this system involved the creation of prefabricated concrete sections, each exceeding 1.8 m (6 ft) in height and 2 m (6.5 ft) in width. These sections were hand-formed, delivered to the site, and then lifted and placed underground within pre-excavated trenches.
The bioswales will be adorned with vegetation and plantings, concealing the primarily underground system from view.
