Linear infrastructure design self-check

Engineering & Construction Services (City of Toronto)

A quality check of the drawings and reports for sewer, watermain and road works, to run before you apply for an ECA or a DWWP.

Before you apply

• Label the cover sheet with the project name and which submission this is.

What to gather

From the design team

The package

• Engineering drawings, plus a rolled-out plan and profile of the composite utilities
• Design sheets and reports (functional servicing, stormwater management, geotechnical, hydraulic analysis and any other studies needed), each labelled and bound
• The drawing set includes a cover sheet, drawing index, proposed-versus-existing key plan, ownership and easements plan, general notes, sanitary and storm drainage plans, grading plan, plan and profiles, pavement design and a composite utility plan

Every drawing

• Every drawing stamped, signed and dated by an Ontario P.Eng., covering both design and construction
• Drawing numbers unchanged from the previous submission
• Existing City services (sewers, watermains and fittings) and other utilities (gas, hydro, telecom, cable) verified on site
• Construction limits shown on every plan, including the composite utility plans, and easements shown and shaded
• Every symbol and line type in the legend

Key plan and ownership

• Colour-coded key plans of proposed versus existing storm sewers, sanitary sewers and watermains
• Colour-coded ownership and easements plan: the new sewers and watermains, existing and new rights-of-way, municipal addresses, who owns each piece of land (private, City, MTO, CN and so on), and existing and new City easements with dimensions

General notes

• The City’s full standard general notes, under that title, even where some don’t apply
• Any further notes in a separate “additional general notes” section, split into General, Sewers and watermains, Sewers, Watermains and Roads
• General notes cover: geotechnical work following the accepted geotechnical report; the contractor’s liability for damage its work causes, repaired at its own cost; the contractor getting its own Permit to Take Water and sewer discharge permit for dewatering; as-built data being for information and needing verification; and the contractor checking the drawings and reporting errors before starting
• Sewer and watermain notes cover: the contractor locating existing City services and repairing any damage; removals to TS 510, with removed items taken off site; removing exposed abandoned pipes; filling abandoned pipes up to 1200 mm left in place with grout or concrete; supporting existing pipes to T-1007.01-1 to -4; clay seals where groundwater reaches the bedding (OPSD 802.095, OPSS 1205); service cards for new or changed connections; and hydrostatic leak testing to TS 441
• Backfill notes: unshrinkable fill (TS 4.60, TS 13.10) for relocated pipes under existing pavement; in boulevards, only inside the 1:1 zone below an adjacent curb or under hard surfaces right next to the road (Municipal Consent Requirements, Appendix D)
• Sewer notes cover: the ECA being in place before construction; watertight joints and flexible boots where sewers and maintenance holes are submerged; replacing service connections to the street line (with clean-outs) when sewers are replaced; connections of 675 mm and up to trunk sewers per T-1006.01-1; risers for services and catchbasin leads where the sewer is deeper than 4.0 m; and solid maintenance hole steps (OPSD 405.020)
• Sewer work notes cover: a sequencing and bypass flow plan for any temporary bypass (per the City’s terms of reference); no work near trunk sewers without Toronto Water or ECS approval and two weeks’ notice; and CCTV inspection to TS 409 of affected existing sewers before and after construction and of new sewers after, with P.Eng.-stamped reports
• Watermain notes cover: the DWWP being in place before construction; wet tapping to Toronto Water’s safe operating procedure; tracer wire on non-metallic mains (TS 4.70); bonded joints on ductile iron; anchor tees and valves for hydrants and services (per the City’s guideline); and large PVC-to-ductile-iron connections per T-1110.03-15
• Water service notes: replace substandard services to the street line; cut and connect copper services of 19 mm and up only when shortening them; replace any that must be extended to the street line, with no buried couplings under the road
• Valve notes cover: removals to TS 510; installation to TS 441; the smaller valve boxes for hydrant and large-service secondary valves (per the anchor tee guideline); restrained valves on PVC mains of 300 mm and up (T-1100.010-2 and -3, approved devices); and stem extensions to 1.2–1.5 m below the lid where a standard 2.4 m key can’t reach
• Notes for mains of 750 to 2300 mm: materials to TS 7.80, concrete encasement of welded steel to T-1109.01-1, and protection of HDPE to T-1109.01-2
• Testing and temporary works notes cover: a connection assembly for pressure testing, chlorination and sampling (T-1104.03-4); disinfection testing to TS 7.30 with form TS 115; temporary watermains to TS 493, protected from traffic and removed afterwards; a sequencing and shut plan for any temporary shutdown; and no work near a transmission main without a Toronto Water inspector, two weeks’ notice, and the main daylighted by hydro-vac or hand first
• Road notes cover: sidewalk expansion joints (T-310.010-1, TS 3.70); tactile walking surface indicators at the foot of curb ramps at every pedestrian crossing (T-310.030-7 to -11, TS 3.70); and vehicle loading (Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code) for sidewalk slabs over soil cells and over areaways

Drainage and grading

• Sanitary drainage plan, colour coded: existing versus new catchment boundaries, each catchment running maintenance hole to maintenance hole, realigned sewers picking up the catchments of abandoned ones, each catchment labelled (area in ha, ID, population, land use and density) with the label in the legend, and the sewers with size, length, slope, flow direction and maintenance hole numbers
• Storm drainage plan, colour coded: existing versus new catchments for minor and major storms, minor-storm catchments (with external flows) running maintenance hole to maintenance hole, realigned sewers picking up abandoned catchments, each catchment labelled (area, ID, runoff coefficient), and the sewers with size, length, slope, flow direction and maintenance hole numbers
• Critical low points at inlets numbered, with a table comparing the road or channel flow capacity against the inlet capacity (m³/s)
• Grading plan: existing grades in italics, major and minor storm overland flow arrows matching the drainage plans, road flags at grade changes (high and low points) along the centreline, slopes between flags and along cross-falls and gutters (intersections included), and existing and new catchbasins
• Road profile showing the flags, grades and any vertical curves (start, end and K value)

Plan and profile

• Plan and profile drawings to the City’s current CADD standards, colour coded, at 1:200 horizontal and 1:100 vertical, with both scales in the title block
• Existing, abandoned (marked with an X) and new City services and other utilities shown together, drawn to scale (pipes and ducts as double lines at outside diameter) so separations can be checked
• Separations that meet City standards, with cross-sections wherever they don’t, plus any site-specific details needed (maintenance holes, benching, backfill)
• Sewers meet the design criteria for minimum slope, maximum length, depth, material for their size, and pipe strength for the cover (PVC DR per OPSD 806.040 and 806.060; concrete class per OPSD 807.010 and 807.030)
• Sewers labelled along the pipe on plan (length, size, material, type, slope, flow direction) and profile (adding class), matching between the two; service connections over 150 mm labelled; bedding shown separately on the profile
• Maintenance holes in the roadway; clearances between sanitary, storm and water that meet the criteria; changes of direction of 45° or less on pipes of 675 mm and up; pipes joined obvert to obvert (or the hydraulic jump shown where joined invert to invert); every service connection shown on all plan and profile sheets
• Connection standards called up: T-708.020 for new pipes into existing maintenance holes, T-708.01 for rigid services on rigid sewers, and T-1006.010 for rigid services on flexible sewers and flexible services on any sewer
• Maintenance holes on the profile: the OPSD or City standard for the structure and for its frame and closed cover, size matched to the pipes, inverts, invert drops that offset hydraulic losses, and drop structures and safety platforms where the depth calls for them
• Structural and benching details for non-standard and offset maintenance holes, and benching for existing maintenance holes getting a new connection
• Catchbasins spaced to the criteria, every roadway catchbasin with a sump, none connected to another, leads no longer than 30 m, and lead connections per T-708.01 (rigid to rigid) or T-1006.010 (otherwise)
• Watermains follow the City’s new watermain installation procedure and are labelled along the pipe on plan (size, material, type) and profile (adding class), matching between the two, with bedding and restrained joint type shown separately on the profile
• Thrust blocks labelled at every bend (with the standard), 1.8 m typical cover shown on the profile, connection assemblies per T-1104.03-4 for tie-ins and for testing, chlorination and sampling, looped mains with no dead ends, clearances to sewers that meet the criteria, every service shown, and T-708.01-4 for shallow mains or services
• Hydrants spaced to the criteria and labelled with T-1105.01; the number of valves at intersections and valve spacing to the criteria; valves under 400 mm in boxes (T-1101.02-2) and 400 mm and up in chambers (T-1101.010, T-1101.030-5, T-1102.01-4)
• On mains of 400 mm and up: air release valves at high points and drain valves at low points (T-1101.030-3, -4 and -5, up to 600 mm), and stem extensions for valves too deep for a 2.4 m key
• Boreholes on plan and profile, groundwater levels on the profile, watertight joints and flexible boots where sewers and maintenance holes are submerged, and enough clay seals where groundwater reaches the bedding (OPSD 802.095, OPSS 1205)
• The 100-year hydraulic grade line on the profile for surcharged storm pipes; if none are surcharged, a note that the grade line is at the sewer obverts
• Outfalls built per T-804.0 with scour protection, secured against entry and debris (OPSD 804.05), with lockable grates that can be opened for cleaning and give way under extreme flows, and fencing along the headwalls and wingwalls (only if the design has an outfall)

Pavement and utilities

• Pavement design to the City’s pavement structural design matrix, with right-of-way cross-sections (roads, boulevards, lay-bys, sidewalks, paths) showing labelled property lines
• Soil cell pavement details also stamped by a structural engineer, with a note that the slab over the cells carries vehicle loads (Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code) (only if the design uses soil cells)
• Composite utility plan to the CADD standards, colour coded at 1:200, showing existing, abandoned (marked X) and new services and utilities to scale
• A pipe crossing table: each crossing’s ID, top and bottom of pipe elevations, clear separation (mm), and the mitigation wherever the City’s minimum isn’t met

Reports and design sheets

• Every study, memo and certificate stamped, signed and dated by an Ontario-licensed professional
• Sanitary and 2-year storm design sheets in table form, plus the 100-year overland flow capacity at each critical low point
• Sanitary design sheets show average and extraneous flows, Manning’s n, the maximum and minimum Harmon peaking factors, compliant slopes, actual and full-flow velocities within the allowed range, actual and full flows with their ratio within the criteria, and existing versus new full-flow capacity for realigned sewers
• Storm design sheets show the 2-year storm, time of concentration, the intensity formula (I = A·T^C), Manning’s n, compliant slopes, velocities in range, flows and their ratio within the criteria, the grade line on the profile for any surcharged pipe (ratio over 1.0), and existing versus new capacity for realigned sewers
• Functional servicing report explaining how the affected area is served by sanitary sewers, storm sewers and watermains and how realigned pipes take over from existing ones, with existing and proposed drainage plans and key plans of proposed versus abandoned pipes
• The servicing report also covers City structures such as bridges and retaining walls: their condition (with photos), the work proposed at them, any remedial work, and the effect on them
• Stormwater management report following the City’s current Wet Weather Flow Management Guidelines, with existing and proposed storm drainage plans
• Hydraulic analysis wherever new watermains are 300 mm or larger (a Toronto Water asset planning requirement)
• For realigned watermains of 300 mm or more, a consultant’s certificate giving the change in head loss (psi and kPa) and whether it’s significant; a significant increase needs a full hydraulic analysis

From consultants and contractors

The package

• Legal reference plans for any new easements (only if the project needs new easements)

Reports and design sheets

• Geotechnical recommendations for pavement design, pipe bedding and backfill that meet or exceed the City’s criteria

Good to know

• The City expects set wording for the drawing notes above. Take the text from the City’s current general notes and design standards, or ask your ECS reviewer, rather than writing your own.
• This check isn’t exhaustive. Meeting the City’s design criteria, guidelines, by-laws and good practice remains the proponent’s responsibility.

Permacore’s own summary, written from public information. Requirements change, so confirm with the issuing office before you submit. Permacore is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Toronto or any other approval authority.

Permits this checklist is for

• Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA): Municipal Sewage Works
• Drinking Water Works Permit (DWWP) / Watermain Approval
• TPUCC Sign-off (utility design circulation)
• Municipal Servicing / Infrastructure Agreement

Official pages

• Standards for designing and constructing City infrastructure