Water Power at Great Falls
Raging waters wash out roads, topple homes and send debris downstream in terrifying jumbles of trees, fragmented houses and floating cars. But in calmer weather small towns in New England have been harnessing water power since colonial days to saw lumber, grind grain, power manufactures and light residences. The Housatonic Valley Association of Cornwall, Connecticut hosted a walk around the Great Falls power plant, dam and canals in July that told the story of one local power operation. Dan Horan of the HVA led walkers around some features of FirstLight Hydro generating facility, as Bill Beebe of Falls Village supplied historical commentary. The energy company uses river flows to generate about 40 mgw of power a year, supplying enough power to light about 3,000 homes. In summer when water levels fall, the plant sometimes does not run at all.
The power company is in the midst of negotiations to make more arrangements for passage of spawning fish both up and downstream, which could help bolster shad populations. A larger facility at Turner’s Falls upriver in Massachusetts has a plan for enhanced recreation and access. Environmentalists have long agitated for better accommodations for fish habitats on the much-dammed Housatonic River.
Beebe said the town originally encourage the building of a dam and a canal in the hopes of replicating the industrial success of Pittsfield which built up the city based on power for manufacturing. This never happened, for several reasons: the canals built to channel the water in usable flows leaked and years of attempted solutions never solved the problems. Nevertheless, iron manufacturing such as the Amesville Iron Works (a few remnants can be seen along the west bank of river), flourished for a while in the 19th century. Beebe drew our attention to round brass markers that had high water marks for different floods, attached to the concrete base of the facility.
From its earliest years in the middle of the 18th century, the town fathers wanted to see the river power used for grist mills and saw mills, and gave away riparian rights to enterprising mill owners. The variable water levels of the Housatonic River meant that mills always had some down time during dry seasons. On the other hand, equipment and facilities stood at risk of damage when floods charged over the 50 foot drop.
The Appalachian Trail runs alongside the falls, and we stumbled upon a mysterious message outlined in white pebbles ISOO. Turns out that point in town of Canaan, aka Falls Village, marks 1,500 miles from the end of the trail in northern Georgia at Springer Mountain. An agreeable amenity at the power plant is a fenced outdoor shower whose showerhead hides in a wall of ivy.
Kathleen-- Your ramblings never fail to interest me. Thank you. I hope that both you and Kira are well, --Stan