East Marsh Pumping Station: Precast Concrete Upgrades for Windsor Flood Control

In 2026, Coldstream Concrete partnered with the City of Windsor to upgrade the existing East Marsh Pumping Station. The project mitigates flooding across the city and improves storm protection during extreme weather events, a growing concern as Lake St. Clair water levels rise.

The station received several upgrades to strengthen local flood control:

• New pumps: smaller units handle routine dry-weather flows efficiently
• Precast discharge chamber: prevents high lake water from flowing back into the system
• Expanded outfall piping: sized for the higher lake levels driven by climate change
• Rock spillway into Lake St. Clair: slows outgoing water and protects against shoreline erosion

Coldstream Concrete supplied the precast discharge chamber.

From cast-in-place to precast concrete.

Originally intended to be cast-in-place, the discharge chamber was redesigned as a precast unit by Coldstream Concrete. 

Precast allowed the contractor to accelerate their schedule and provided protection against weather events which could affect onsite build timelines and quality. 

The redesign carried the standard precast advantages that accelerate a build:

• Production runs parallel to site preparation instead of waiting on it
• Curing happens in a controlled plant environment, not exposed to weather
• Significantly less on-site labour

What did the new precast design consist of?

Coldstream Concrete supplied a 4.052 m × 4.52 m × 4.6 m deep precast chamber, assembled from four precast units. The heaviest section weighed 39,102 kg (39.1 tonnes).

Large-diameter stainless steel sleeves were cast directly into the chamber walls, allowing a fast connection to on-site piping. The result speeds up the project timeline without giving up the tie-in flexibility that cast-in-place normally provides.

Project status

The East Marsh Pumping Station project is roughly 50% complete, with completion estimated for November 2026. Coldstream Concrete is glad to provide critical infrastructure that helps prevent flooding for Windsor residents, and looks forward to finishing the project.

Read more about theEast Marsh Pumping Station Upgrades Project on the City of Windsor website, or browse our other precast concrete infrastructure projects.