Trip to Muskoka – Part 5 Bala Falls dam update #52

This part of the trip was exciting. The Bala Falls Hydro dam rebuild has been interesting from afar.
This would be update #52 [🛠️BALA HYDRO DAM]  It's been very exciting. Here we are in Bala, in June. I've been updating the progress since 2008 [My Muskoka: Bala Falls Hydro Project -part 1]!


The Moon River
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It was a power station before, back in the day. They dammed it up, originally, to better manage the water for profit: tourism and the ferry boats that provided goods and services. Why not harness the power?


Muskoka from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I've jumped off this bridge!


A bit of moss on the roof, doesn't stop this store. They have been one of the strongest against the dam rebuild. It's been a pretty bitter battle.

Welcome to September!

Well, things will really quiet down now. Slowly, the migratory birds (including hummingbirds, insect-eating birds, and bugs) leave. The goldfinches will change colour. Kidlets back in school. Tourists go home and line-ups in town cease. We're back to business. I put my feeders out. We haven't seen bear since July. 20 I think I'm good. (Famous last words!) They've a regular habitat and eating patterns by now.

August weather was dry. 

We're still in a mild drought. My weather data over the years reflects an ebb and flow of heavy rains or drought. The meadow is still lush, as the evening dew wets the weeds. We've had deer, raccoons, and momma turkey, with only a few babies. I'm thinking the coyotes have been eating well!

PERTH SENIOR'S COMPLEX

There is a massive build in town. I've been taking photos since April, 2018.


In town gardens are thriving. I like this house. They work hard on the gardens. I keep meaning to pop in and tell them. It's eye candy as we drive by.

Sen. John McCain

Yesterday we watched Sen. John McCain's funeral. It was very moving. The music was amazing, many hymns and anthems I've sung when I was in a church choir. We both wept. However, when I saw this priest taking a selfie with Pres. Bush, I snorted. Pres. Obama just walked on by.

Almonte Hydro Dam

The Almonte Hydro Dam is being completed. I've been taking photos since September, 2014.

Almonte Hydro Dam 

Bala Falls Hydro Dam

Doug Ford is the Ontario Premier (brother of the late, infamous mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford).
The big news was the Druggie Ford, as they call him, has set us back many years in terms of cancelling our modern Health & Phys. Ed. and Indigenous Peoples curriculum, money for school building maintenance, and yet he didn't make any of these planks in his platform public before being elected. What is truly, truly funny, is that he whipped up from Toronto to Bala (200 km) during the election, and promised them he'd cancel the hydro project. Some of the locals don't want the project completed. Especially the family in the cottage directly opposite the dam!

Now, as you can see, the rebuild of the Bala Falls hydro dam is well on its way to being done.  I began covering it in 2008. Ford has gone from a campaign visit promising he'll cancel it, to saying he can't –as it will cost $100 million. Not to mention that there would be a big hole there! I think I'd like to visit it!

SwiftRiverEnergyLtd@BalaFallsHydro

It's coming together, piece by piece. Each component is carefully designed and custom fabricated in a marvel of engineering and construction artistry. #balafalls #hydropower #madeincanada

11:01 AM - Aug 29, 2018

Progress at Bala's power plant. pic.twitter.com/QeoFkBpkm0

— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) July 31, 2018

Swift River Bala Falls Hydro Dam

Bala Falls Hydro Update #34 <= yes, I've done 34 posts. This links to the list, which begins Sept. 9, 2008, when we lived in Bala.
Seriously, it's taken this long.

Doug Ford, running for the leadership of the Ontario Conservatives (the Liberals are in power), traveled to Bala Falls for a photo-op and a chance for publicity. Politics interests me. Amazing, the ethics of milking this issue for political opportunity. 

You must know Doug Ford. His late brother, Rob Ford, was the infamous mayor of Toronto. Doug is still in politics, his family of millionaires aren't busy enough! A month ago he thought he'd run for mayor of Toronto. With the #MeToo movement sinking the previous leader of the party, Ford decided to abandon that ship and run. 

It's a dangerous place to swim.
We cottaged in Bala from 1960 - 2010.

Swift River, MNRF respond to Doug Fords' Bala 'farce and scam' speech

27, Conservative leadership hopeful Doug Ford said the Bala falls hydro electric project is a farce and a scam by the provincial Liberal government. Ford went on ... The Ministry of Natural Resources gave Swift River control of Crown land known as Margaret Burgess Park to build the plant. The ministry ...

This project is on its way. It's been going for 12 years! Ford claimed he was going to stop the project. This is the latest from Swift River. 

The project is expected to:

• Improve water level and spring/fall flood control
• Have low environmental impact due to synergy with existing structures
• Annually offset 20,000 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 3,888 cars and light trucks off the road
• Create over 80 new jobs during construction

Swift River Energy Limited is a 100% Canadian owned company established in 2004 with a mission to develop the North Bala Falls Small Hydro Project, small, low-impact, run-of-the-river hydroelectric generating facility. The team is composed of individuals with decades of experience building and operating a wide array of facilities in complex and challenging environments.

Mar. 1, 2018

  It looks lovely! This is a plan for development to reharness the power of the river, which includes an observation deck. I've been a supporter from the beginning. This is progress.

Our January newsletter will be emailed, mailed this week. It's also available on our website. https://t.co/MsbFmxSABt pic.twitter.com/IiBdiJfeTJ

— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) January 25, 2018

Bala Falls Update #33

UPDATE: Dec. 22, they have a boulder removed that showed evidence of White Colonial Settlers. In the early days, settlers built a dam to make the water levels more consistent to allow for them to exploit it for tourism, ferries, and such.

Engravings successfully removed from bedrock. In a safe place awaiting further cosmetic finishing. Original mound 25 ft wide, 20 ft deep, 8 ft high. Extracted Bala Boulder estimated at 10 tons. That's two elephants! pic.twitter.com/MkyBkYAjDv

— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) December 22, 2017

Here's the backstory on the boulder they dug up during construction.

Piece Of History Unearthed At Bala Falls Dig - Muskoka News Watch

Nov 22, 2017 - A large boulder with words carved into it that appear to date back to 1888 and 1919 has been unearthed at the Bala Falls construction dig. The work, being done in advance of a planned ... There are two engravings on the boulder with the numbers 1888 and 1919. The rock itself is in pretty rough shape, she ...

Bala Falls Saga!

Bala Falls Hydro Project update #31

Bala Falls has made the news far and wide. A 'moral injustice', indeed. It will take time, but rich cottagers will get it when they cannot run their pumps, air conditioners, hot tubs, in their cottage-mansions in Muskoka. When they ignore a burn ban, and crews can't get enough water to their burning buildings. When Climate Change means that multi-million dollar 'cottages' are destroyed.

Multi-million dollar 'properties' in cottage country

What do you think?
Boathouse or Aerodrome?

Bala Falls hydroelectric (Ontario): Swift River Energy Ltd. has been working for more than six years on a plan to build a 4.5-megawatt run-of-the-river waterpower facility in the existing dam on the north Bala Falls in the Muskoka district. The project was first approved in principle in 2008. Hydro power previously was generated at the site until 1978. Local opposition has been fierce and has spread through the district’s wealthy cottage community. An editorial in the Huffington Post by a Toronto filmmaker that denounces the project as a “moral injustice” has been shared on Facebook some 3,400 times.

Bala Falls Update #30 And Almonte Dam

The Ontario government was committed to reducing our dependence upon non-renewable energy. A series of wind farms, solar panel farms, and the refurbishment of defunct hydro dams, has been the result. It has drawn many protests. Hydro is in a mess, and this doesn't help things.

Truly, this is update Bala Falls update #29!

Aerial view: #Muskoka Lakes and Bala Falls pic.twitter.com/VkmckaORi2

— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) June 5, 2016

It is sad that we cannot reconstruct existing hydro dams without huge political protests. Those against it still claim that the refurbishing of the dam will result in a 'trickle' of water. People from far and wide, with no real interest in it, other than protesting, seem to think they have a vested interest.
From a dam, designed to keep the water levels high enough for steam boats for the tourists, Bala has changed over the years. The exploitation of the water continues. This was a sacred portage for Aboriginal Peoples, but that ship sailed a long time ago. The train brought tourists and money to the town from the city of Toronto. Those with money were happy to spend it on luxurious resorts for the summer. Native Peoples still lived in poverty, some became richer exploiting tourism, logging and the land and water. Read Bartleman, James; As Long as the Rivers Flow, or Raisin Wine to read more about this era.

Bala Falls 1910

Bala Station 1916

Old Burgess Store 1938

Main street in Bala 1940

Bala Wharf

Below the falls 1930

"SAVE THE BALA FALLS", not sure from what!

Save the Bala Falls lawsuit against Town of Muskoka Lakes robs Bala of 2 parks, costs the town money #Bala

— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) November 16, 2015

The Bala Falls Hydro Project began in 2004, and they are still protesting it. Ridiculous.

Building permit has been posted on site pic.twitter.com/hODTM8NjKK

— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) July 13, 2016

Motorcycles pollute the air, with two-stroke engines, in their support for 'save the Bala Falls"

Canadian motorcycle group heads to Bala to support saving the falls https://t.co/hVRaW8GLLb pic.twitter.com/42zbQr0ver

— Moose FM 99.5 (@moose995) June 24, 2016

@BalaFallsHydro Is it the ridiculous STBF lawsuit against TML you mention? If so, why would council/legal give it any serious consideration?

— AT (@JacksonBTT) November 19, 2015

Almonte Enerdu Dam

Then there is the Almonte Dam.
Almonte is in the middle of a mess, but their dam has not-so-silent supporters.

Supporters of Almonte hydroelectric dam expansion. Why they're demonstrating: https://t.co/wi7ooN6FGn https://t.co/pv1oTqJBs4

— Matthew Kupfer CBC (@matthewkupfer) July 12, 2016

As well as protestors.

Protest of Enerdu hydro dam continues in #Almonte. Background: https://t.co/GU561a6nhS #ottnews pic.twitter.com/bQsUomql7t

— Chloé Fedio (@cfedio) July 5, 2016

Some protest on the basis of critters, who couldn't use this habitat until after the dams existed. 
The rapids clubtail dragonflies flit about in the Mississippi River, likely oblivious that they are the final salvo in a small Ontario town’s battle over a proposed hydro dam expansion. 


Many insist on their right to play in the water, despite the dangers.
Almonte Falls from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.