Doug Ford's controversial scheme to redevelop a portion of Ontario Place's public lands into a private spa continues to face harsh criticism.

Resort operator Therme's proposed mega-spa was recently scaled back in the face of stiff public opposition, however, Toronto residents are still angered by various aspects of the project, including the allocation of publicly-accessible parks and beaches.

Therme boasts that its redesigned plan will introduce 1.6 hectares of rooftop parkland and trails in addition to a previously planned 4.8 hectares of public parkland, which includes a new public beach.

However, the placement of said beach is raising concerns from onlookers due to its proximity to a combined sewer outflow, or CSO.

CSOs exist in some older areas of the city, where sewer systems were built prior to a modern understanding of wastewater's impacts on the environment.

Single pipes combine sewage and stormwater that are mostly directed to wastewater treatment plants, though these CSOs act as a sort of relief valve during storm events, diverting everything from rain, melted snow, and raw sewage into local waterways or directly into Lake Ontario.

In a 2022 interview with CBC News, a local volunteer noted that Ontario Place is often littered with flushable items after storms, citing "plastics, napkins, sanitary napkins, condoms, things people flush down the toilet," among the items washed up on Ontario Place shores.

People like @DiamondSchmitt @UrbStrat are selling us a plan, very hard, that will move the only downtown beach close to this overflow. https://t.co/iUCwsTpWgS

— Shawn Micallef 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (@shawnmicallef) September 7, 2023

A City of Toronto page on CSOs states that it is now known that these outflows' "discharges contain harmful bacteria, pathogens, heavy metals, oils, and pesticides, as well as nutrients that can increase algae growth and degrade the health of Toronto's waterways."

Which probably doesn't sound like a great place to build a public beach.

When asked about the choice to place a public beach next to a sewer outflow, Therme Group representative, Simon Bredin, offered a boilerplate non-statement, placing responsibility on the City of Toronto, despite the fact that it was Therme that chose to build the beach in an area of potential public hazard.

Bredin states that "The combined sewer outflow is a piece of City infrastructure and questions about its impact are best directed to them," and adds that "the proposed brand-new public beach will be a highlight of the 16 acres of park space we are creating on the West Island."