File F603 - 62nd Avenue sewer construction wye sheets

In 1886, in addition to the Chief Engineer, a Sewerage Engineer was appointed to keep a watchful eye over the development of the city’s sewer system, and reported to the Board of Works. By 1895, inspection of sewers fell under the purview of the Board of Health; it wasn’t until 1906 that a sewer inspector would once again report to the Board of Works. In 1914, there is the first mention of the Sewer Department in estimates. It was also around this time that an Assistant City Engineer was assigned to the area of Sewers. The functional scope of this division remained largely unchanged (except for an amalgamation into the Sewer and Scavenging Department from 1926-1930) for a long period of time.

Following a departmental review by external consultants in 1954, the Engineering Department underwent a major restructuring of its organizational framework: divisions based on the type of operation performed were replaced by three basic divisions: administration, operations, and traffic management. This structure remained in place for only a few years.

From that time, the push and pull of administrative re-ordering has seen the Sewers responsibilities associated with the following divisions within the Engineering Department/Engineering Services: Departmental Services & Sewers ([1975]-1990); Water, Sewers & Budgets (1991-1994); Water, Sewers & Yards (1995-1999); Water & Sewers (2000-2005).