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Tag: dam

Spring Has Finally Sprung in 2019!

April 9, 2019
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| #WheresWilly, Dam Talk

With the winter finally over, we have brushed the snow off of Willy and are back on the road for another year of the #WheresWilly team touring Canadian waterfalls, dams and waterpower stations. Our first stop in 2019 was a very wet and rainy one at the Marmora Generating Station on the Crowe River east of Peterborough.  This waterpower plant was constructed in 1992 at the site of a couple of old mills and adjacent to the Crowe River Conservation dam. Now is the perfect time for dam owners to be thinking about seeing how their structures fared over the long cold winter, with respect to impacts from ice, debris from the spring runoff, and washouts from high spring water...

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Willy sidelined by ATV for 2 remote sites

August 29, 2018
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| #WheresWilly, Dam Talk

Our #WheresWilly team had to sideline Willy today for an ATV so we could visit a couple of more remote sites in Sequin, Ontario - Fry Lake Dam and Horn Lake Dam.  Both of these sites were very serene.  It is hard to imagine any other man made structure that could look more at one with nature, yet provide the necessary water levels for cottage country recreation and green energy generation.

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Beautiful day to tour the charming Elliot Falls dam and generating station.

August 24, 2018
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| #WheresWilly, Dam Talk

Our #WheresWilly team returned to Elliot Falls today (see earlier post) to get a better look at this charming plant. Elliot Falls is located on the Gull River in Norland Ontario (south of Minden) and is part of the Trent Severn Waterway.  The Waterway owns and operates a dam upstream of the Elliot Falls.  This dam is open to the public and currently used as access to a system of trails located on the east shore of the river.  The Elliot Falls Generating Station was originally constructed in 1902 by the Raven lake Portland Cement Company to provide 700 kW of power to the cement factory.  It was purchased in circa 1930 by the former Ontario Hydro and mothballed until...

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Bracebridge – Home of the beautiful waterfalls and generating stations

August 23, 2018
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| #WheresWilly, Dam Talk

Our team returned to Bracebridge today (see earlier posts regarding the High Falls Generating Station and the former Bird's Mill plant) to visit the beautiful Wilson and Bracebridge Falls and their respective #waterpower facilities on the North Branch of the Muskoka River.  Both of these facilities are located to scenic waterfalls within the Town of Bracebridge, have a long history of generating electricity, and were redeveloped recently. The Wilson Falls Generating Station was originally built before WW1.  The powerhouse, penstock and intake were replaced in 2012 to allow for its expansion to the current capacity of almost 3 MW. The Bracebridge Falls Generating Station is located in the heart of downtown Bracebridge.  It was originally constructed in 1902.  It was...

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#WheresWilly Visits Bancroft

August 22, 2018
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| #WheresWilly, Dam Talk

Our #WheresWilly crew visited the circa 1930's Bancroft Generating Station in the heart of Bancroft on the York River.  This quaint little 600 kW #waterpower plant is at the location of a former Wool Mill that was constructed in 1884.  It is unclear how much of the dam and canal infrastructure was built as part of the original mill, but it is assumed that the majority of whatever was built in 1884 has been at least upgraded when the generating station was constructed around 1930 by Bancroft Electric Light and Power.  The plant was redeveloped in 1948 to add a second unit.  The Wool Mill has since been replaced by the current Old Mill Apartments immediately adjacent to the power...

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Where’s Willy Now? > Elliot Falls Generating Station

July 20, 2018
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| #WheresWilly

Willy and the MKE team visited the Elliot Falls waterpower facility on the Gull River in Kawartha Lakes as part of our 2018 #WheresWilly road trip. This plant was originally built in the early 1900's to power a nearby cement factor, decommissioned in 1928 then redeveloped in 1990 to provide 700 kW of homegrown, green energy to Ontario's power grid. MKE have been retained to complete a structural inspection of the facility and design a comprehensive maintenance and rehabilitation plan. We will also be assisting the new owners, Bracebridge Generation, with the preparation of the required dam documentation for its dam safety program.

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Structural Inspections

July 17, 2017
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| Dam Talk

Heavy Civil Structures:  Given their robust nature, it is easy for private owners of hydraulic structures / dams and waterpower facilities to ignore, or at least minimize the preventative maintenance effort and cost for these structures, especially if there are more pressing budget concerns relating to mechanical or electrical elements.  However, concrete hydraulic structures in Ontario are exposed to very severe conditions and experience continued, degenerative deterioration over their lifespan.  If this deterioration is not addressed, it can quickly lead to: safety issues for staff and the public, regulatory issues with respect to non-compliant environmental practices, water infiltration through the structure that can expedite deterioration, larger, more expensive repairs, forced shut downs of the facility to accommodate larger repairs. Identifying the...

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