Bala Falls Hydro Issues part 2.2

What is very interesting as Muskoka evolves and grows, is the great fight against the Bala Falls Hydro Project- a project signed and sealed with a contract! Volunteers were going door-to-door with flyers to inform citizens of the town hall meeting. They are soliciting donations to help defray printing costs in their attempts to inform the public of their concerns. My first post has photos, as well as some concerns.

The dambusters are working hard at cancelling this project. It is interesting that they are primarily store owners who will be affected, but the entire closely knit community is up in arms. Media coverage has been interesting, with bias on many fronts and reporting of misinformation.

It was standing room only, with a packed hall. Cars were parked everywhere as those interested in this issue made a point of attending the Sunday afternoon (Sept. 14, 2008) session. There was a printed agenda, with various speakers, including several store and business owners (the Burgess, Gidley, Purkis folks) concerned with the impact of the project on their profits.

Tourism dollars were hard to find this past year. Those who know tell us that it was down by as much as 30 - 40%. It is likely not due to gas prices. (The extra costs of driving from Toronto to Muskoka would make a trip about $30 more expensive) It was the lack of sunny days and the rain that reduced our visitors.

At the town hall meeting presentations made before the District Council (Sept. 2, 2008) were reprised, as well as info by Mitchell Shnier,
Mark Gidley and Nigel Nicholson.

The group is looking for help in generating names on petitions, and mobilization of teams to speak to Donna Cansfield (Ministry of Natural Resources), George Smitherman (Minister of Energy), District Councillors (who will visit the site Oct. 14th), and to meet to discuss the impact of tourism on this initiative.

The Facebook site has been continuing. Posts are becoming clearer, and some correspondence has been quoted. For example, John Purkis (who leads the FB group) posted a response regarding his concerns from Swift River...

I am sorry that we can’t do more to answer your concerns. The existence of the town of Bala seems to depend upon the dams, as this is the reason that the road, rail and river junctions exist, as well as maintaining the level of Lake Muskoka and the Moon River.

Our project does not touch the existing dams, nor does it create a new one. It is an underground power plant that will be created in order to build an extensive park on top. The park will become the focal point, not the power project – which is in fact invisible.

Ian Baines

Chief Operating Officer
Swift River Energy

I continue to find some discrepancy between what the dambusters are claiming will happen and what Swift River's plans outline. The artist's rendering, a thorn in Swift River's side, is grossly overdone and not to specifications.

A book I have about the History of Bala, shows photos of the original falls, before the falls were dammed to raise the water levels, and ensure that they did not rise and fall abruptly with sping thaws and summer droughts. At that time the falls could raise or lower 9 feet, according to this book. The photos of the original falls were lovely. If you look under the first bridge you can see the lovely Precambrian Shield rock over which the water roared uncontained. People have seen fit to harness the water and control its impact to steamships and loggers in the early days of development of the area. I guess the more things change...