Filsinger Tour
Stop #1: Victoria Street facing south towards the hydro tower
Before: Victoria Street facing south (credit: Steve Brown, Stantec)
The primary objective of the removing the 1.8 km stretch of concrete channel in Filsinger Park
was to:

improve water quality in Victoria Park Lake;

reduce the amount of sediment going into the lake.
This concrete channel was installed in the early 1980s to provide erosion and flooding
protection in the creek. The stormwater field now places a greater role on the natural
environment and replacing the concrete channel with a natural channel helps improve aquatic
and terrestrial habitat.
After: Victoria Street facing south (credit: Melissa Ryan, City of Kitchener)
Stop #2: Along the trail south of Victoria facing towards Hazelglen
Before: storm sewer outfall and concrete channel (credit: Steve Brown, Stantec)
There were a number of storm sewer outfalls in the project area (outfalls are pipes that drain
water from the streets and flow through pipes under the roadways to creeks such as Filsinger).
The design had to ensure that these pipes still drained to the creek.
This particular pipe was nearly perpendicular to the flow but generally, it is better practice to
have them at an angle that matches as closely as possible the flow of the creek. So we moved
this pipe further downstream to get a better flow connection. We also added a maintenance hole
structure, which meant disrupting the community garden. We worked with the gardeners to
replace the garden plots we destroyed and we also replaced some fencing.
In many locations, we’ve installed deeper pools at the outlets of the storm sewer. This helps
sediment to settle out and slow down the flow of water.
Removing the concrete channel and replacing it with a winding creek that has a better
connection to its banks also helps reduce sediment. When there is a lot of rain, and it is washing
oil and grit off the driveways and streets, the water can now flow onto the banks; the vegetation
that expands out along the banks helps to slow the water. As the water slows, some of this grit
gets dropped onto the banks. This means that it doesn’t end up in Victoria Park Lake. The idea
is that this process happens gradually and vegetation can continue to grow.
After: photo taken during the tour showing what the channel now looks like after being
naturalized (credit: B.Sharpe)
Stop #3: At the bridge facing upstream
Before: standing on pedestrian bridge facing towards Fischer Hallman Road (credit: Steve
Brown, Stantec)
Three bridges were replaced as part of the project. These bridge crossings needed to be longer
since the creek was now taking up more space. The city intends to use the bridges that were
removed at other locations within the city.
Some trees also had to be removed as part of the project; however, many more were planted.
Over time, there will be additional shade along the creek.
The original intent for Filsinger Park was to also construct a stormwater management facility to
provide water quality in this area; however, some residents were not supportive of this idea and
began a petition; those concerns needed to be addressed prior to the project moving forward.
The city decided to not pursue the stormwater management facility and proceed only with the
channel improvements. Once construction was under way and it was becoming clearer what the
end result would look like, we received a number of supportive and positive comments from
residents and observers.
One of the interesting factors that are very difficult to measure is the social benefits to these
types of projects. There were trails here prior to our work, but now there are more elements of
nature, such as the creek, and therefore pedestrians feel more connected to nature.
After: Photograph of the channel after construction taken during the tour while standing on the
pedestrian bridge facing Fischer Hallman Road (credit: LA Livingston, City of Kitchener).
Stop #4: Downstream of where the two creeks join
Before: photograph taken downstream of where the two channels meet, facing Monte Carlo
Street (credit: Steve Brown, Stantec)
In this picture you can see the confluence, or joining, of the two creeks into one. This was built
last and, for portions of the construction, there was a temporary dam built here. Work needed to
be completed under dry conditions, which meant that when there the creek was being
excavated, the flows that would normally be present had to be routed around the work area. In
this section, this was mostly achieved using a large pipe that was installed prior to the work
starting. As the contractors completed sections, they moved the pipe. The work was also done
in segments. So the contractor pulled out the concrete in stretches of 25-50 metres, graded and
stabilized the new channel and then moved on to the next section.
During the course of the work, there were three big storms, one of which overflowed the banks
in this location. Only a portion of the creek was disrupted at a time during the work, which meant
that things stayed in place. One further component to this work was to ensure that the work in
the channel did not encourage flooding. The project team worked with the Grand River
Conservation Authority to ensure that the design of the creek did not make flooding worse.
After: photo shows after construction east of confluence of both creeks, taken during the July
2015 tour (credit B.Sharpe)
Stop #5: At the culverts at Westmount Road (west side)
Before: photograph taken along trail at Westmount Road facing towards Fischer Hallman Road
(credit: Steve Brown, Stantec)
This project is still in its infancy; the various grasses, trees, etc. that have been planted will need
time to become established and mature. Previously, the channel had an inch or two of water in it
and fish had not been observed here during various field investigations. We’ve already begun to
see fish in this watercourse, which is a significant improvement over what we had before.
The city is currently working on an integrated city-wide Stormwater Management Master Plan
that will provide direction of stormwater projects and initiatives for the next 15 years. We
encourage all City of Kitchener citizens to provide input into the process and a fall public open
house (date to be determined) will present the preliminary proposed alternatives, etc.
After: Photograph taken near Westmount Road facing towards Fischer Hallman during the July
2015 tour (Credit: LA Livingston, City of Kitchener)