Drained by a half-dozen major watersheds, cut by a network of deep ravines and fronting on a Great Lake, Toronto is a city dominated by water. Recently, the trend of fettering Toronto’s water and putting it underground has been countered by persistent citizen-led efforts to recall and restore the city’s surface water. In HTO: Toronto’s Water from Lake Iroquois to Lost Rivers to Low-flow Toilets, thirty-four contributors examine the ever-changing interplay between nature and culture, and call into question the city’s past, present and future engagement with water.

HTO explores everything from waste disposal, waterfront reclamation and community watershed initiatives to the founding of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority after Hurricane Hazel, a psychogeographic exploration of High Level Pumping Station and a critical look at the city’s Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan. In between, there are descriptions of Toronto’s geological past, the history of Taddle Creek and a Ninjalicious-style tale of infiltration of the city’s storm sewers, complete with a colour-image section. Together, these essays provide a context for a critical observation of the city’s relationship to water, and how that relationship will have to change in the coming decades.

Includes essays by Richard Anderson, Bert Archer, Chris Bilton, James Brown, Michael Cook, Nick Eyles, Liz Forsberg, Mark Fram, Ed Freeman, Chris Hardwicke, Michael Harrison, Maggie Helwig, Lorraine Johnson, Joanna Kidd, John Lorinc, Robert MacDonald, Steven Manell, Michael McMahon, Shawn Micallef, Gary Miedema, Helen Mills, Mahesh Patel, Wayne Reeves, Frank Remiz, RiverSides, David Robertson, Jane Schmidt, Murray Seymour, Eduardo Sousa, Andrew Stewart, Kim Storey, Ron Williamson and Georgia Ydreos.

‘HTO fittingly reminds readers … that we have astonishing power to enactchange … invaluable’

– Canadian Water Treatment

‘ A poignant reminder to any city-dweller of the cultural, historical and environmental importance of fresh water, public health, lakes, rivers and streams’

– Canadian Architect

‘An intense and multifaceted approach to the relationship between the natural and urban world.’

– Corporate Knights