CW270-2024

Background

On December 7, 2022, Committee of Council requested staff report on the impact and costs related to beaver population in stormwater ponds. Since this time, staff have consulted with the Province and undertaken best practice research discussed in this report.

Beavers enhance the environment by creating wetlands, reducing erosion, and improving fish habitat. Beaver dams can cause drainage issues in watercourses and stormwater ponds, but these rarely become a high risk to the public, unless flooding threatens critical infrastructure (e.g. roads, railways).

There have been a number of instances where beaver dams have impeded drainage and City staff have resolved these issues as they have arisen.

Consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, as well as a survey of practices in other municipalities, confirm the best practice 2 in beaver management across Ontario is to share your property with beavers. As a City we are looking to coexist with beavers through public education, preventative measures to deter beavers, and only using removal as a last resort in extreme circumstances that present high risk to critical infrastructure such as roads or railways.

Source: City of Toronto

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