A Saga of Try, Try, and Try Again - Ottawa, Ontario
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Weathervane
N 45° 22.269 W 075° 41.824
18T E 445416 N 5024418
This information panel is located in proximity to Hogs Back Dam and the Rideau River, in Ottawa, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WM14D87
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/15/2021
Views: 9
Inscription on the plaque on site:
A saga of try, try, and try again
For Lt. Colonel John By; the engineering challenge was to create a simple navigation route from this location on the Rideau Canal to its terminus at Ottawa Locks. The solution was to raise the water level of the river here, to that of Black Rapids located 6.4 kilometres upstream.
Original plans of 1827 called for a 14 metre high stone arch keyword and earthen dam stretching across the entire river. After three failures due to spring thaws and floods, the last of which nearly took the life of Colonel By, the design was abandoned. Instead the dam consisted of a gigantic wooden crib fortified by earth and rock filled on both sides. To ensure water never flowed over the dam, its height was increased to 15 metres. A weir served to control water flow.
Despite these precautions, repairs and re-modelling were undertaken in every decade between 1840 and 1940. The work was necessary due to the damage to structures caused by spring flooding, ice and driftwood. The evolving needs arising from commercial use, settlement, development and new technologies also played a role.
In the late 1970s, Parks Canada, in partnership with the National Capital Commission, undertook the last major re-construction. The concrete was renewed in the water control dam. Electric gates were installed in two weirs. The fixed bridge over the water control dam was widened as well as the road over the retaining dam. The swing bridge over the locks was replaced with a wider hydraulic-electric model. What you see today is the result.
Group that erected the marker: Parks Canada - Parcs Canada
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Hogs Back Road at Riverside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
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