What is Stormwater?
Stormwater is rainwater and melted snow that runs off lawns, streets and other land surfaces. This runoff is supposed to be absorbed by plants and soils or make its way back to the natural environment.
However, hard surfaces — such as pavement, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks and roofs — especially in urban areas, can prevent stormwater runoff from naturally soaking into the ground, which can lead to flooding and erosion of downstream water courses, such as rivers and streams. That’s why the City works diligently to maintain its vital stormwater infrastructure – such as catch basins, storm sewers and stormwater management ponds – to help prevent this from happening.
While not all properties in Vaughan immediately contribute to stormwater runoff entering the City’s infrastructure, the runoff from both urban and rural properties will eventually reach the infrastructure or impact rivers and streams over time.
List of Activities
The Environmental Services department relies on the contributions of multiple departments to provide a seamless stormwater service to Vaughan citizens and businesses such as:
- Rehabilitating or replacing Stormwater infrastructure
- Monitoring and managing Stormwater infrastructure
- Planning for long-term Stormwater service needs