Fenelon Falls, No Lessons Learned

Some have suggested that the hydro-electric power station at Fenelon Falls (this was built about 13 years ago) shows that such a project would be good for Bala (see related article here).

The situation is completely different, for example:

1. There never was, and there isn’t now any in-water recreation directly upstream or downstream of the Fenelon Falls:
   • Here is a photograph looking upstream from the Colborne Street bridge (which runs along the top of Fenelon Falls). Behind the flowers is the water intake channel bringing water into the power station. Note to the right is a concrete retaining wall, and a chain-link fence to ensure people stay away from the dangerous water intake.
   • Here is a photograph looking at the north shore of the river (the ledge of the falls and downstream is to the right). The power station’s tailrace is just to the left of the long concrete retaining wall (which extends a few feet above the ground to form a fence) along the north side of the river.


2. So public safety was not an issue for Fenelon Falls because people couldn’t get near the water anyways. The concrete retaining walls, and the speed and the depth of the water never did permit in-water recreation. There are no docks directly upstream or downstream of the falls.


3. There is a huge amount of concrete all around the Fenelon Falls:
   • Here is lock 34 of the Trent-Severn Waterway, which is just to the north of the power station (which is just to the left). Functional, but not a lot of natural beauty here either.
   • Here is a view upstream, showing the exit from lock 34 on the right, and the power station just to the right of Fenelon Falls.
   • The large concrete structure on the south side of the river is a restaurant (it was initially a saw mill, and later a hydro-electric generating station).


4. So the construction of the Fenelon Falls power station didn’t affect the natural beauty of the area, so would not affect the tourist draw of the area.

In fact, because of lock 34 on one side and the restaurant/mill on the other side, there never were very good places to view the Fenelon Falls, so the additional vantage point from the power station was a fine idea.

But this is not the situation at Bala:

• Bala has natural and publically-accessible shoreline, with Muskoka rock, not the concrete which had already surrounded Fenelon Falls all the way to the waterline and below (and the other shoreline is lined with “No Trespassing” signs).
• Bala has important and constantly-used boat docks both directly upstream and downstream of the falls, Fenelon Falls does not.
• Bala has in-water recreation both directly upstream and downstream of the falls, Fenelon Falls does not, and never did.
• The construction of the Fenelon power station did not displace any businesses, eliminate any portages, or eliminate any of the town’s uniqueness, but at Bala all of these would occur.
• The Fenelon Falls power station is in the middle of a large commercial and industrial area, but in Bala, the proposed power station would be within a few hundred feet of many private residences.
• There are no safety booms upstream or downstream of Fenelon Falls, but the proponent’s drawings show there would need to be two upstream safety booms, and one downstream safety boom at the Bala Falls.
• Apparently there is always enough water to run at least one of the two turbines at the Fenelon Falls power station. However the proponent has stated that during the summer the proposed power station at Bala would need to be cycled on and off every four to eight hours – and we know it is likely that a siren and strobe lights would need to be used to warn the public of this, as this is currently industry practice in Ontario.
• Bala already has many great vantage points to view the falls (and these would be ruined by the proposed power station), whereas much-needed vantage points were provided by the Fenelon Falls power station.
• While the power station in Fenelon Falls is somewhat hidden (and the Falls are many times wider than the the power station), the proposed power station for Bala would be very prominent – rising 20′-high above the Moon River, be a simlar width as the Falls, and would be directly in view of the main vantage points.

Therefore, there are no lessons from Fenelon Falls. It is a different situation. Because of the geography and prior construction of the locks, the construction of the Fenelon Falls power station did not affect public safety. And because of the way the public views and uses the area, Fenelon Falls’ tourism was not negatively affected. But this is not the situation for Bala.