Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed heavy equipment in Terry Fox Park. This work focuses on an important part of our infrastructure: the stormwater retention basin.
Until now, the park had an open basin, which required more maintenance and offered limited capacity. Our engineering team is in the process of replacing it with a fully underground basin, better suited for today’s climate challenges. The main installation work is almost completed, with final steps scheduled in the coming weeks.
✅ Why an underground basin?
Intense rainfall events are becoming more frequent across Québec. When large amounts of water fall in a short period, they must be absorbed or redirected quickly.
An underground basin helps:
- temporarily store rainwater during major storms;
- reduce surface runoff;
- prevent localized flooding;
- reduce stress on the stormwater system when demand peaks.
🌧️ Part of a larger system
One important — and often invisible — fact about stormwater management is that flooding doesn’t always occur where the rain falls. It often results from overflow or overload elsewhere in the network.
By increasing the capacity of the basin at Terry Fox Park, we help balance water flow throughout the system, which can reduce the risk of flooding in other neighbourhoods.
This principle will also guide upcoming projects, including those linked to the Oasis Program, aimed at strengthening Dollard-des-Ormeaux’s climate resilience.
✅ Unchanged on the surface — stronger underneath
Although the new basin is completely hidden underground, it represents a major improvement to our infrastructure. A subtle change at the surface, with meaningful benefits for the resilience of our community.
