The High Level Pumping Station is a municipal water
pumping station in
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada it is also home to the central control for the city of Toronto's
water distribution system
A water distribution system is a part of water supply network with components that carry potable water from a centralized treatment plant or wells to consumers to satisfy residential, commercial, industrial and fire fighting requirements.
Defini ...
. It is located in a residential neighbourhood near the intersection of
Avenue Road and Dupont Street.
History
The current building was erected in 1906, and expanded in 1910. It was designated a heritage site by the city in 1985. It was built on the site of the Yorkville Waterworks, which had been established in 1875 to provide the then separate town of
Yorkville, Ontario with drinking water.
It is one of 22 pumping stations in Toronto that move water from
Lake Ontario to the higher elevation, northern parts of the city. The High Level Pumping Station is one of the hubs of the system, with 10 pumps. While previously all these stations were manned, today it is only the High Level station which has permanent workers. Municipal employees from the site monitor the city's water supply twenty-four hours per day. There is a back-up to the control room at the
John Street Pumping Station
John Street is a street in Downtown Toronto. It runs from Stephanie Street and Grange Park in the north to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Front Street in the south. It is home to a number of Toronto's cultural institutions, including bui ...
, which is the highest capacity station in the system.
References
Lostrivers.ca - High Level Pumping Station
External links
Historic photos (1900-1955) from the City of Toronto Archives and the Toronto Public Library
{{coord, 43.678472, N, 79.40212, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title
Municipal buildings in Toronto