What are these foundations at Niagara Falls?

[Heywood Jannockitov]

...and a few more

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

...There's still more...better get a bucket

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Many of you may not realize that there is a new tunnel project currently underway to increase capacity 14 percent to the Canadian Adam Beck Plants. This will utilize water diversion rights no longer being taken by the 3 mothballed older plants. There is a tunnel boring machine currently working its way at the rate of 2.6 metres per day from a point near the Adam Beck reservoir, under the city of Niagara Falls Can., getting as deep as 460 feet (to avoid other existing tunnels), to the upper river at the International Control Dam.
Check this kink for more info:

NIAGARA TUNNEL PROJECT - Niagara Falls

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Can't forget the American side tunnels.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Can't forget the American side tunnels.

Thanks for showing all the pics with tunnel locations. I am looking forward to spring time so I can walk around most of NF without freezing or hurting. Knowing as much as I do now about these plants and such is great as I understand what I am seeing better. I didn't know they were building a new tunnel. I would love to go see what machine is doing the boring.

I do feel bad for the trees around the falls. All of the limbs were broken off and I realized this happens every year to those trees. It looks terrible but it sounded amazing as the ice was melting and breaking off the trees on the hill. It was like broken glass falling on more glass. The mist makes some amazing ice sculptures. I will be up there a couple more times this year including New Years Eve for a party at the Fallsview. I will be staying at the Hilton though for New Years. How far away do you live from the Falls? One of these days when it is nice out it would be great to meet you and learn some more history as I look at the real things.

 

[brianidaho]

Things sure have changed since I was there in 1966. Does anyone know how far back the falls have eroded since then?

Someone may have answered this by now, saw your post and decided to respond. I grew up near the Falls (Lockport/Gasport area), from what I recall I think they figured about a foot a year. There is a relatively soft rock at the base of the falls, it erodes pretty readily, then eventually the harder upper layers break off.

Back in the early '70's they actually dammed off the US side of the falls, diverting all the flow to the Horseshoe falls, so they could do some studies and see what could be done about erosion. I don't believe they came up with any "fixes", but it sure was strange to see the falls all dry.

We used to spend quite a bit of time fishing on the lower Niagara, and hiking in the gorge. Now, I'm a refuge!

 

[jinman]

Robert, I'm sure glad it wasn't that cold and frozen when we were there. If so, I wouldn't have nearly as many pictures. I showed your pictures to Kathy, and we both agreed that we enjoy seeing pictures, but we'll just wait until it's warmer to do our visiting. Nice photos though...great demonstration of how all the mist freezes on everything.

Graham, your photos continue to be very educational and entertaining. I have enough aerial photos to fill several "photobuckets," but I'll fight the urge to post them all. I will say that the $150 for two of us to fly over the falls was money well spent. Every few months I look at all our photos and it is just like being there all over again. I took movies up close to the falls that make me feel like I'm going over the edge, and I always get a lump in my stomach watching them and hearing the roar of the water.

I'm including a picture of a structure that is upstream of the Ontario GS intake. I think it is a gate that limits the amount of water going into the intakes or it might shield the intake from big ice flows. Perhaps, you can tell me the reason for this structure. You seem to be TBN's resident technical expert.

The final picture is most of the American side of the falls. With a view that's lacking compared to the Canadian side, I wonder if the NY side will ever develop? It would probably take opening Goat Island to developers. Even so, the old adage, "location, location, location" is sure obvious.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Thanks for showing all the pics with tunnel locations. I am looking forward to spring time so I can walk around most of NF without freezing or hurting. Knowing as much as I do now about these plants and such is great as I understand what I am seeing better. I didn't know they were building a new tunnel. I would love to go see what machine is doing the boring.

I do feel bad for the trees around the falls. All of the limbs were broken off and I realized this happens every year to those trees. It looks terrible but it sounded amazing as the ice was melting and breaking off the trees on the hill. It was like broken glass falling on more glass. The mist makes some amazing ice sculptures. I will be up there a couple more times this year including New Years Eve for a party at the Fallsview. I will be staying at the Hilton though for New Years. How far away do you live from the Falls? One of these days when it is nice out it would be great to meet you and learn some more history as I look at the real things.

You're quite welcome Robert.
You should have a great time there on New Years, and I hope your back is feeling better soon.
Our family were refugees too. My dad got a job in Hamilton, then Toronto, so we gradually moved further away. My wife, born in Niagara Falls, along with all her relatives also left. All my other relatives stayed there. Pretty well everyone worked for either GM (St. Catharines Engine Plant), or Ford Glass, Carborundum or Norton. My mom worked for American Cyanamid for awhile. My grandmother worked in Niagara Falls NY and crossed the Honeymoon Bridge (Upper Steel Arch Bridge) everyday going to work. She claimed she was one of the last pedestrians to cross before its closure and subsequent collapse, due to a severe ice jam in 1938.

Where I live now is about 2 hours away, about 50 km north of Toronto. The east-west 407 ETR toll highway bypass north of Toronto, which now extends west all the way to Hamilton has made the trek to the Niagara Region a fair bit quicker and less stressful. The Mississauga-Oakville-Burlington section of the QEW is worth avoiding. It would be nice to meet up sometime (I agree, when it is warm!) and show you some interesting stuff that is not well known even by the locals. Some of it is not in Niagara Falls proper, but nearby, such as the old Welland Canal (there were 4), ruins of Neptune's Staircase, Bruce Trail, DeCew Falls at Power Glen, Port Dalhousie... I could go on and on though.

Speaking of Power Glen, there are two more generating stations (DeCew Falls Plants 1 and 2) that hardly anyone knows about, just west of Brock University in St. Catharines. They are virtually hidden unless you know where to find them:

(From the IEEE site) "The first plant at DeCew Falls , two miles from St. Catharines, was built by the Cataract Power Company to supply power to Hamilton, a distance of 35 miles. It draws water directly from Lake Erie through the Welland Canal, with a storage reservoir in Lake Gibson. Seven steel penstocks are supported on the hillside by concrete piers. The direct-connected, turbo-generator units are mounted horizontally on a gravel foundation. The tail-water is carried downstream in Twelve Mile Creek to Lake Ontario at Port Dalhousie. The head is 260 feet. This plant began operation with two 1,500-hp units on 26 August 1898; two 3,000-hp units were added in 1900; the plant was completed in 1912 with a total output of 44,600 KVA at 66 2/3 cycles. It supplied power to Hamilton several years before Niagara power reached Toronto. In 1930 it was bought by Ontario Hydro and converted to 60 cycles. This is the oldest Niagara area plant still operating."

Decew Falls GS Tour - (C) 2008 Professor Mark Csele

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

...I will say that the $150 for two of us to fly over the falls was money well spent.

I've never taken a helicopter ride over the Falls, I bet it was amazing Jim! My buddy is always bugging me to go because his son-in-law is a helicopter pilot and works for one of the tour operators there. If you took it from the Can. side, he may even have been the pilot on your flight! I'm more of a fixed-wing kind of guy though; helicopters make me nervous.

I'm including a picture of a structure that is upstream of the Ontario GS intake. I think it is a gate that limits the amount of water going into the intakes or it might shield the intake from big ice flows. Perhaps, you can tell me the reason for this structure.

Ah, yes, the International Control Dam!
Basically, it can regulate the flow over the falls and can spread the flow out more evenly. At night these gates raise up, restricting flow over the Falls so more water can be diverted through the big tunnel intake structures for the Beck and Moses plants (Robert took a picture of one of the Moses intake gates)
Robert, if you get a Falls view room at one of the hotels, and if you get up early enough, I think around 7:00 am, I'm not sure exactly, but you can actually see the flow increase in the upper river as the gates are lowered to increase flow over the Falls. The gathering weir at the Rankine plant will be dry, but suddenly, water will begin to spill over it. Pretty neat to see, but you have to know what, when and where to look!

Ontario Power Generation: Power Generation: Hydroelectric Stations: International Control Dam

Did you check out the "Niagara Tunnel Project" link from a previous post? The 1st gate closest to the shore on the International Control Dam is the location of where the new intake gate for the new tunnel is going to be. A cofferdam has been built and the area has been de-watered. You can see that at the very top of your photo. A tunnel is going to be blasted out of the rock for 400 metres, then will meet up with the TBM, probably sometime in 2012. The project is so far behind schedule that the TBM is taking a shortcut to speed up progress!

 

[RobertN]

from what I recall I think they figured about a foot a year. There is a relatively soft rock at the base of the falls, it erodes pretty readily, then eventually the harder upper layers break off.

Back in the early '70's they actually dammed off the US side of the falls, diverting all the flow to the Horseshoe falls, so they could do some studies and see what could be done about erosion. I don't believe they came up with any "fixes", but it sure was strange to see the falls all dry.

I saw a special on PBS not too long ago. Very interesting. They indicated that the flow over the falls is significantly less than in 1900, due to diversions, tunnels, power, etc.