Bala is unique

Summary
While other hydro-electric generating stations in Muskoka may be “in the middle of nowhere”, so do not create public safety concerns and don’t affect the local area’s economy, Bala is different.

The Bala Falls are more accessible, more visible, and more visited than most others. And there is more in-water recreation both upstream and downstream of the Bala Falls than at other falls, and there are more retail stores, restaurants, and residences nearby than at other falls. And Bala depends on the tourist draw of the falls more than other areas. That is, unlike other places in Muskoka, Bala needs the falls to have enough water to draw tourists, and we need in-water recreation to be safe.

This conclusion is through visiting and hiking all around 12 dams and hydro-electric generating stations nearby. Some of the hundreds of photographs taken of and around these are below.

 

Detail
While there are many hydro-electric generating stations in Muskoka, Bala is unique. For example at the Bala Falls:

• In-water recreation (swimming, scuba diving, floating on inflatable toys …) is very popular, throughout the summer, both upstream and downstream of the falls.
• Boating (motorboats, as well as canoes and kayaks) are very popular, throughout the summer, both upstream and downstream of the falls.
• Fishing is common, especially adjacent to the outflow of the south channel.
• The falls are very visible and accessible from the nearby road. And there is parking (and retail stores) nearby.
• The shoreline and water are very accessible. Some with gentle slopes (upstream of the north and south falls), some with rocks on which many visitors enjoy climbing (downstream of the north falls), and some wheelchair accessible (south falls accessed from the Precambrian Shield parking lot). There are benches to sit on, many places to view the falls and take pictures. People go to the Bala Falls for their wedding photographs. Tour buses stop. The view of the sunset down the Moon River is world-class.
• The shoreline upstream and downstream of both the north and south falls are public lands, and are interesting and themselves an attraction.

The situation is very different for other generating stations in Muskoka.

Firstly, an overview of the many Muskoka generating stations and falls visited.

As can be seen above (click on that image for a higher-resolution view, or if you have Google Earth installed, click here for an interactive view, and click on each below to zoom in to see the land use upstream and downstream of the stations):

• Bracebridge Falls Generating Station, Wilson’s Falls Generating Station, and High Falls Generating Station are on the North Branch of the Muskoka River (at and north of Bracebridge)
• South Falls Generating Station, Hanna Chute Generating Station, Matthias Generating Station, and Trethewey Falls Generating Station are on the South Branch of the Muskoka River (below Bracebridge).
• Big Eddy Generating Station and Ragged Rapids Generating Station are on the Musquash River (the south branch of the Moon River), east of Highway 400 and north of Highway 38.
• Wasdell Falls is on the Severn River, about 3 km east of Highway 11, between Orillia and Gravenhurst.
• Fenelon Falls Generating Station is about 55 km east of Orillia, at lock 34 of the Trent-Severn waterway  (see this article for more detail).
• Minden Generating Station is about 50 km east of Gravenhurst, on the Gull River.

 

The shorelines upstream and downstream of most of the existing generating stations in Muskoka are inaccessible, most of the shorelines are privately owned, and there is no in-water recreation nearby. There is no parking, there are no retail stores, and only the local population would even know where these facilities are. Some examples are shown below.

The virtually unmarked side road of a side road to Wasdell Falls is blocked by both a locked cable and a galvanized pipe gate.

 

The river upstream of Wasdell Falls has steep banks with trees and brush right to the shoreline. Not many people care or know about the dam here.

 

It is a hike down a steep rocky slope to get to the downstream side of the dam.

 

Downstream of Wasdell falls shows that the shoreline is steep and the far side is all private property.

 

Parking beside Highway 21 and climbing through the brush to Gull River, and looking upstream from the Minden dam shows that the shore is muddy and inaccessible. There are no people and there is no in-water recreation.

 

Looking downstream at the Minden dam shows again, the area is unused and inaccessible.

 

The entrance to the Minden generating station is off of Highway 20, and has a locked gate (again, this is inaccessible, few would even notice this).

 

The falls in Minden may have been beautiful once, but there’s just a dry riverbed now.

 

Looking “downstream” along the dry riverbed shows one of the two penstocks bringing the water into the upstream side of the Minden generating station.

 

Looking down from the Highway 35 bridge over the Gull River a few hundred metres downstream from the Minden generating station shows how inaccessible this river is. That is, the dam isn’t affecting the town or the non-existent in-water recreation.

 

Looking upstream from the Mathias generating station shows the penstock (bringing the water from behind the dam to the generating station) on the left, and on the right is the dry riverbed where the falls used to be.

 

Looking downstream from the Mathias generating station again shows a steep inaccessible shoreline, and no in-water recreation.

 

Looking upstream from the Hanna Chute generating station shows nobody using the shoreline. No cottages, no docks, no boats.

 

There are many more pictures like these, and as you can confirm by using Google Earth to pan and zoom around these and other Muskoka generating stations, they are inaccessible, there aren’t any towns or retail stores nearby, there isn’t even any parking nearby. Nobody sees the barbed-wire fencing, and there isn’t any in-water recreation, so no significant public safety concerns.

That is, the other hydro-electric generating stations in Muskoka are different than Bala. The situation at Bala is unique, which is why the proposed generating station at the Bala Falls has significant unaddressed public safety and economic impact issues.