Restoring Local Creeks: Voisin Creek and Borden Creek

Trees are important to your community, and they are important to the City of Kitchener too. Where necessary, we will remove trees as part of construction for some of our stormwater projects. During construction, we work to preserve as many trees as we can. We are committed to replacing each tree we remove. We also may plant additional trees according to the space available and community need.

Decisions about removing trees are made in consultation with the City’s forestry staff. When replacing trees and planting new trees, we work to build habitat and bring biodiversity.

We will clearly communicate what tree removals are necessary for this project during the construction process in 2029. For more information about tree removals, visit the Frequently Asked Questions.

In the spring of 2024, we hosted an open house for Voisin Creek and Borden Creek. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Open House on May 22, 2024 and gave their feedback on the design options.

For a detailed report on what we heard from community members at the open house and online, please read the summary

Common themes

• Stormwater: We heard that you are supportive of the proposed design and in favour of a naturalized channel
• Aesthetics: You expressed that the aesthetics of fencing and new amenities should be considered
• Planting: You want to see native plantings, such as foraging plants, and improvement of local habitat for wildlife

Important next steps

Thank you for your patience as we develop a final design based on your feedback and the City’s technical requirements. The next stage of these projects will be construction.

Construction is expected to begin in 2028 for Borden Creek and 2029 for Voisin Creek. We will share details about construction before the date that work will start on these projects.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact us at VoisinBordenCreeks@kitchener.ca

Thank you to everyone who came out to our open house on May 22! Check out the presentation boards and tell us what you think.

The boards include:

• Project details, including the project background
• Design options for Voisin and Borden Creeks

View the presentation boards

Whether you attended our open house or not, we want your feedback! Please fill in our survey so we can hear what you think about the design options.

Answer the survey

Thanks to those who’ve already registered for the Borden and Voisin Creeks Open House. We look forward to seeing you. If you haven’t already, please register

On May 22 when you drop by the Open House, you’re invited to join Reep Green Solutions for a Rain Smart Yards walking tour. Learn more or sign up

The walk is happening at 7 p.m. during the open house.

There will be space for a maximum of 25 participants to join the interactive walk.

May 22, 2024

5 to 8 p.m.

Forest Hill Public School (255 Westmount Road East, Kitchener)

Please register

We will be changing parts of Voisin Creek and Borden Creek to restore their natural flow and reduce erosion.

About the open house:

• Learn more about the stormwater projects at Voisin Creek and Borden Creek
• Drop in anytime! Staff and consultants will be available to receive your feedback and answer questions.
• During this event, join Reep Green Solutions for a Rain Smart Yards Walking Tour at 7pm! Event details are available on Eventbrite
• We will have children’s activities and child-minding
• A light meal will be provided

If you can’t attend this in-person event, you can participate virtually. We will post materials on this webpage for you to review and comment on closer to the event.

In 2016, the City of Kitchener Council approved a stormwater master plan. This plan created a strategy to manage stormwater for the next 15 years. Through this plan, we learned that only 25 percent of runoff in the city is managed through stormwater facilities. This means that 75 percent of runoff from heavy rainfall and snow melt flows into storm sewers, contaminating local creeks.

The master plan identified initial concepts for the installation of projects across Kitchener. We consulted city-wide on the stormwater master plan. That consultation met the needs of the master plan. But as we look closer at specific projects, we need to consult further with the community.

The Government of Canada awarded us nearly $50 million through the Disaster Mitigation Adaptation Fund. Access to this funding means we can make stormwater improvements at a reduced cost to the community. And we can do this much sooner than would have been possible without the funding. We need to comply with funding requirements, which places an extra constraint on these projects.