The Humber Islands?

[icemachine]

Originally Posted by Filip

Yes, maybe a good idea, that's when we see the actual environmental impact of the islands. If all they're doing is sending the silt and pollution into Humber Bay Shores/Humber Bay Parks then you can bet your penny the condo association (along with us concerned citizens) will fight this to its death.

The purpose of the islands would be to redirect the silt and runoff from the Humber farther out into the lake so it doesn't end up on the eastern shores of Humber Bay as it currently does

[Taller, Better]

Apparently the historical depositing of silt onto the existing Toronto Islands has been screwed up by all of the changes we have made to the shoreline over the past two centuries. The article I read said this is leading to erosion of the Islands. When we make one change to the shoreline, it does affect the current patterns so I am assuming they have studied this thoroughly before making the proposal.

[Gil]

Originally Posted by Epi

Sounds fun. Weren't the original Toronto islands mostly created from fill themselves?

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

Apparently the historical depositing of silt onto the existing Toronto Islands has been screwed up by all of the changes we have made to the shoreline over the past two centuries. The article I read said this is leading to erosion of the Islands. When we make one change to the shoreline, it does affect the current patterns so I am assuming they have studied this thoroughly before making the proposal.

The Islands were originally sand bars fed by erosion from the Scarborough Bluffs. The creation of the Leslie St. spit prevented the material to sustain the Islands from getting there. So the Islands (Billy Bishop Airport in particular) were topped up with various fill material and dredgings fro the Harbour. Some parts of the Islands are artificially reinforced with rocks or sandbags to prevent further erosion.

As for the Humber Islands, how long geologically does it take for a river to form a delta? Or is the Humber not the type of river that will produce one? Given the amount of silt that comes down particularly during heavy rains I'm surprised the beginnings of islands weren't used as a basis point for this project.

The goose-dropping shape is probably due to maintain some sort of natural outflow from the Humber. They don't want to completely seal the beaches off from the Humber, just redirect the sediment when there are heavy outflows after heavy rains.