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By-Law 9-90
of The Corporation of the City of Oshawa
being a by-law to establish the basis upon which plans relating to grading and the disposal of
storm and surface water shall be approved.
Be It Enacted And It Is Hereby Enacted as a by-law of The Corporation of the City of Oshawa
by the Council thereof as follows:
1. That the Commissioner of Works shall approve plans required under Section 40 of The
Planning Act, 1983 as said plans relate to grading or alteration in elevation or contour of the
land and provision for the disposal of storm and surface water from the land and any
buildings or structures thereon on the terms hereinafter set out.
2. General
a) Subject to Sections 8 and 9 storm sewer connections are required for all developments
except residential development containing fewer than three (3) dwelling units.
b) Where applicable, a storm sewer connection shall be applied for at the same time as
application is made for a building permit.
c) The information required to support an application for a storm sewer connection and the
proposed grading of the property shall be detailed on an appropriate plan filed with the
application for site plan approval. The owner or his representative is responsible for the
accuracy of the information furnished on such plan.
d) In addition to the conditions set out in this by-law, it is the responsibility of the owner or
the developer to ensure compliance with all other storm servicing requirements and
criteria.
e) Prior to granting the building permit, all necessary drawings must be approved by the
City. Approval of the drawings and subsequent granting of a connection permit shall not
relieve the owner of responsibility for the accuracy of the drawings filed.
f) Before being granted the building permit, the applicant shall be required to deposit with
the City the cost as specified in Section 3 of this by-law of that portion of the connection
which is located within the road allowance to cover the cost the City will incur for the
construction work outlined under Section 5.
g) Prints of any City engineering drawings for reference may be obtained in the
Engineering Branch of the Department of Public Works. These prints will be supplied
upon request for a charge of $1.00 per copy. The City shall not be responsible for the
accuracy of any information illustrated on the said drawings.
3. Connection Charges
a) For any storm sewer connection, funds shall be deposited with the City in the amount of
the estimated total cost for that portion of the connection within the road allowance
based on the best information available at the time of the application.
b) Upon completion of the construction, the City will determine the total actual cost of the
work. The total actual cost will incorporate the cost of construction and applicable
overhead charges.
c) If the final actual cost for a connection is in excess of the amount deposited with the
City, the owner shall on request pay such additional amount to the City. However, if the
actual cost is less, the excess shall be refunded to the owner.
4. Design Requirements
a) General
Storm drainage plans for all developments subject to site plan control shall be submitted
and approved by the City prior to the City granting approval for any sewer connection.
b) Storm Sewers
(1) Storm drains from private property shall not generally be connected through or into
catch basins with the road allowance.
(2) Minimum depth of cover over any section of a storm sewer system shall be 1.0
metre measured from final crownline road grade. This applies not only to sewers
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and connections within the road allowance, but should also be used as a guide for
sewers on private property.
(3) The minimum diameter of a storm sewer main on a street shall be 250 mm. The
minimum diameter of a storm sewer connection shall be 200 mm. Smaller
diameter storm sewer connections to drain roof water may be permitted, and if
approved, shall be designed in accordance with good engineering practice.
(4) Minimum velocity in connections shall be 0.75 metres per second. Maximum
velocity in connections shall be 4.0 metres per second.
(5) Parking lots, driveways and/or other hard surfaced areas associated with
developments that are subject to site plan control shall be drained into a properly
installed internal drainage system with catch basins connected to an adequate
storm sewer or to a suitable outfall, as determined by the Commissioner of Works.
(6) On private property, manholes shall generally be provided at a maximum spacing
of 100 metres. On private property, catch basins may be interconnected provided
that the sewers between the catch basins are properly sized and a manhole or a
catch basin type manhole is still provided every 100 metres. No change in grade
or direction of pipe shall be permitted between manholes, catch basins or catch
basin type manholes.
(7) A manhole or catch basin type manhole of an approved City design shall be
provided at property line for every storm sewer connection, unless the site is to be
drained by a single catch basin, in which case a manhole or catch basin type
manhole will not be required. If the diameter of the connection is greater than one-
half the diameter of the sewer main, a manhole shall be required at the main, in
which case the said manhole or catch basin type manhole at the property line may
be dispensed with at the discretion of the Commissioner of Works. The location
and the acceptable use of catch basin type manholes shall be at the discretion of
the Commissioner of Works.
(8) One catch basin shall be provided for a maximum of 1,400 square metres of
impervious area. Impervious area is defined as an area having a run-off
co-efficient of 0.90 or greater. The private storm drainage system shall be
designed to accommodate a minimum of a 1 year storm.
(9) No person shall discharge or permit or cause to be discharged to any sanitary
sewer, any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof run-off, subsurface
drainage (except Building Footing Drain Tile), cooling water, unpolluted industrial
process water or any quantity of other waters which by their nature are
substantially unimpaired in quality. Any water collected by roof water leaders shall
either discharge above ground level at a minimum distance of 4 (four) feet from the
external wall of a building, or discharge directly into such sewers as are specifically
designated as storm sewers provided, however, that dwellings constructed prior to
December 31, 1966 may be permitted to discharge at a minimum distance of not
less than 18 inches from the external wall of the building.
(10) The design of the storm sewers and connections shall comply in all respects with
the design requirements of the City.
5. Construction
a) No sewer connection shall be constructed on any City road allowance or other public
land except by City forces or under a contract let by the City. Any work done for or by
the City shall be under the control of the Commissioner of Works and its scheduling
shall be dependent on the workload at the time of application.
b) The limits of construction and maintenance of storm sewer connections by the City shall
extend from the sewer main to the property line only.
c) The owner is responsible to ensure that the connections comply in all respects with
Section 4, "Design Requirements", of this by-law.
d) In every case, in order to permit sewer excavation on the road allowance to be
undertaken, the building shall, at least two days before the City's estimated time of
arrival, clear the site and ensure that the stakes marking the location of the connection
stubs are visible and properly located. Failure to observe this requirement will relegate
such construction to be the last in priority of all connections then scheduled to be
installed.
6. City of Oshawa Responsibility
a) No storm sewer connection shall be maintained by the City unless a manhole or catch
basin type manhole is provided at the property line, or sewer main, and the City shall
service only the portion of the connection within the road allowance.
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b) In cases where a manhole is required at the property line, the City shall connect the
storm sewer pipe to the manhole if it exists. Otherwise the pipe will be buried and left
with a plug in the end and the builder or contractor shall be responsible for installing the
manhole, breaking into the same and connecting the pipe. Upon completion of the
manhole, the City must be notified for approval of the installation.
7. Non-compliance:
If any installation is found not to comply with the drainage drawings approved by the City,
the City shall not accept drainage from the development into the City storm sewer system.
This condition will prevail until such time as the installation is made to agree with the
approved drainage drawings.
8. The Commissioner of Works may grant an exemption from the provisions of Paragraphs 2
to 7 both inclusive, where in his opinion the development or redevelopment involves only
minor alterations to an existing development with no substantial changes in the character of
the drainage pattern and no substantial increase of paved area or in the area of the site
which has an impervious surface.
9. Where no storm sewer exists in the vicinity of the development or where for any other
reason Paragraphs 2 to 7 are not applicable and the development is not one to which
Paragraph 8 of this by-law applies, the Commissioner of Works shall refer the matter to the
Council through the Public Works Committee, and Council may in the circumstances deem
the development to be premature or may direct that such plans be approved subject to
such conditions as may be necessary to cover future connection and satisfactory
development of the site in the circumstances to ensure that when the storm sewer service
becomes available the connection will be made and that the drainage arrangements will be
adequate to prevent conflict with other development which can be expected to occur in the
area.
10. Repeal of By-law No. 7-81
By-law No. 7-81 is hereby repealed.
By-law read a first, second and third time and finally passed this fifth day of February, 1990.
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