The Village of South River is about an hour’s drive north of Huntsville and is the developer and owner of the South River hydro-electric generating station, which began operation in 2011.
A very important difference between the South River generating station and that proposed in Bala is that the South River falls are somewhat inaccessible, few people know about or visit them, and therefore their loss has had little effect on the local economy.
The photographs below (click on them for a larger view) are of the same section of the South River falls (the rock at the top-centre is the same in each). At the left is the “before” photograph, and the right is after the generating station was in operation.
As we’ve said, people won’t come to see the dry rocks where the falls used to be.
The “before” photographs are from the book Waterfalls of Ontario by Mark Harris, who writes: “This series of small waterfalls offers some interesting exploring and close-up photograph. The river pours over a wide expanse of exposed bedrock, creating a hodge-podge of interesting little rapids, cascades and slides. At no place is the fall more than a few meters. At another spot, a giant submerged old wooden beam (possibly from some long-vanished mill building) forms the crest of an artificial low, wide waterfall. You can wander out on the bare polished bedrock and explore the site to a degree. Even more cascades can be found downstream of the road, but the land surrounding these is private, so you are able to enjoy them only from the bridge. If you walk another 200 meters north to a short driveway on the right, you will find a parking area overlooking the river just upstream from the falls.”
Below is another view before and after the South River generating station was in operation (note the MNR dam at the top-left in both).
Everyone involved with the project (MNR, developer …) is very happy with the South River project, and you can be sure this is just what the proponent would like to do in – Bala leave us high and dry.
Thanks to supporter Marilyn for these photographs.