Me, Urban Explorer
I have been noticing a ditch and a metal structure just west of Atomic Ave on The Queensway for some time. Local historian superstar MICHAEL HARRISON back in 2010 write with his blog that:
I was surprised to discover that Jackson Creek still flows above ground for a considerable distance to the north. ...
The headwaters currently lie just north-west of the Russell Food Equipment building on Coronet Road. The creek flows along the west side of the rail spur that continues north to the main rail line. The creek once flowed further to the north but the culvert that once contained it is now dry, the food distribution warehouse on the other side of the tracks long ago cut off its source. The creek flows south into a culvert, under North Queen Street, around the former Sam's Club site and then flows freely across the Canadian Linen property, under The Queensway, and south between two car dealerships until it enters a culvert and flows under the Gardiner Expressway.
While exploring the area, a lot seemed to have changed since then. There is no flow whatsoever during the initial exploration. The bed was in best case a ditch, in moderate case a place for semis/ trucks to park and flatten, and in worst paved. 
The idea for this post was to go an take a closer look at the drain and the structure. I was expecting a ditch with signs of flow during rain/melt, etc. Upon arrival, it was curious to note cracks across The Queensway under the culvert/ drain. I hope that they never develop into a sinkhole or something.
The ditch is quite unremarkable. Even though it did not rain for a few weeks, it was still moist at the lowest points and wetland flora colonised it. It terminates in a drain (green PVC pipe in the pic above) below a paved-over commercial facility.
Among all this un-remarkableness, was that despite the ditch being simply moist, there was standing water inside the culvert. I also heard it rushing somewhere inside. The water did not have any odour either.
Glancing back at the cracks, and hearing the sound of water I got tempted to follow. My temptation lead to quite serendipitous results.
Right across there was a grate with water flowing under. I almost dropped my phone into it.
Following the terrain of the dealership, I stumbled on something remarkable. Out of a metal pipe, a cool steam the size of nearby Mimico Creek is flowing over pebbles and silt. The only fishy part of it was that the water wash clear and odourless. In my folk scientific opinion, the only clear water is dead water, but the above mentioned historian authoritatively opines that :
"Originally covered by thick forests, these watersheds [,of Southern Etobicoke,] evolved over thousands of years to become a finely tuned and balanced system that produced a steady flow of cool, clear and pristine water abounding in sensitive coldwater fish species such as salmon. " - highlighting added by me.
Anyways, dear readers, feast, a YouTube video is worth a thousand blog posts.
The creek dies again into a drain, not far away from the Queen Elizabeth Way.
Further below, there is really nothing remarkable, save for wetland vegetation at the highway, where the flow once was. Humans of Jackson Creek
On the way back from the Queen Elizabeth Way, I was approached by dealer Mike. He had obvious concerns about the creek, being the occasional flooding and also the trash that gets blown in from the extensive paved lots and the road around. He was excited about Friends of Jackson Creek and was ready to even donate money for cleanup volunteers and joint husbandry efforts regarding this natural asset.
After, I went out to find some long-term employees to get some lived history, as one of the mandates of this project is to seek out and preserve experiences with this watercourse that was prigged from the community not so long ago. We always encourage to bring such forward.
The man to speak with is Riz, the Operations Manager at the 427/QEW KIA. He was around here for about 10 years and noted that the steam never dipped beyond its base-flow, even in the times of worst drought. According to Riz, the landlord mows the grass and does some light garbage cleaning once or twice a year. Also once a year the city comes to pump the drain in order to prevent backup.
We also talked for some time about the cleanness of the water right in the industrial heart of the city. Riz, with a meditative smile and glee in his eyes described how it is "just so peaceful and relaxing when he goes there." "You know, I am from Africa," he went on, " where I'm from the water is just as clear. Sometimes, just as in Africa, I want to scoop some of it and taste it. I have to stop myself every time."
It is such human interactions/ experiences that motivate me to continue in pushing for restoration of this piece of natural heritage for all humans and animals to enjoy. The creek ought to be an impactful, positive part of local culture and recreation, instead of some underground part of rare local knowledge or even at worse, an un-maintained nuisance.
Research
Of what I dug up on the Web, this flow is part of the piped away Jackson Creek that then is taken away towards Humber River somewhere:
Here is an aerial photo from 1971 showing the creek flowing through the area:
Another one from 1965 actually shows the creek crossing under the Queen Elizabeth Way:
Monologue
This is the very last bit of Jackson Creek still flowing. Should be it buried, it is gone into history. That would be the ultimate shame.
Now, according to this tool, the elevation difference between the above drain and the dry ravine in the Douglas Park (image on the left) across the Queen Elizabeth Way is 3.16m or 10.46ft, meaning that the gravity can take the creek to the next part of the daylighting project.
Further down are open lands of a permanently closed school on Lanor Ave and Canpa rail connection that can host the restored Jackson Creek. Canpa spur is still, be it rarely, used as a backup connection during GO emergencies, otherwise it is wound down and adjacent lands are for lease.
Also, I plan to take advantage of the offer/ excitement of the tenants that I encountered and to organize some sort of community clean-up event/ lunch. At such, interested people can discuss husbandry of the creek, including maybe a fence or rocks to block the litter blowing into the creek, maybe a bridge, a bench, etc. The tentative date is August 6th.
Update: Douglas Park stream bed starts with a culvert and a pronounced depression with brush down below. Just Add Water
Update: Douglas Park stream bed starts with a culvert and a pronounced depression with brush down below. Just Add Water
