TRIP CLIP AUDIO - LAKE MOODIE HYDROELECTRIC RESERVOIR

Click to play or download LAKE MOODIE HYDROELECTRIC RESERVOIR TripClip (mp3 format).

GENERAL INFORMATION

Lake Moodie is a part of an inland lake system in Niagara that is fed by water from Lake Erie via the Welland Canal and via feeder canals at Allanburg. Lake Moodie is the northern-most lake in the inland lake system and starts at the North side of DeCew Road bridge where it connects with Lake Gibson. Lake Moodie serves as a hydroelectric reservoir for the DeCew Falls Generating Stations I and II, and has been modified on multiple occasions to increase the waterflow for energy production. 

Hours of Operation

No hours of operation - prohibited entry but viewable from street/side of road.

Because of the fluctuating levels of water and ensuing currents, boating and swimming are not allowed.

DIRECTIONS

From Toronto:
Take QEW to St. Catharines/Niagara/Fort Erie.

Take Exit Highway 406 South. 
Take Highway 406 exit at St. David's Road West. 
Take a left on Merrittville Hwy at stoplights.
Take a right on DeCew Road.
At 670 metres turn right into the parking lot of DeCew House historic foundation.
Fom DeCew House find the Bruce Trail which follows the edge of the water westward around Lake Moodie.  You can walk along the edge of the reservoir to the very edge of the Niagara Escarpment.

From Niagara:

Take QEW Toronto-bound.

Take Exit Highway 406 South. 
Take Highway 406 exit at St. David's Road West. 
Take a left on Merrittville Hwy at stoplights.
Take a right on DeCew Road.
At 670 metres turn right into the parking lot of DeCew House historic foundation.
Fom DeCew House find the Bruce Trail which follows the edge of the water westward around Lake Moodie.  You can walk along the edge of the reservoir to the very edge of the Niagara Escarpment.

Historical

John Patterson, the Hon. J.M. Gibson, John Moodie, James Dixon and J.W. Sutherland procured a charter dated July 9, 1896 and formed the Cataract Power Company of Hamilton Ltd. for the purposes of developing hydroelectric power and transmitting it 56 km (35 miles) to the city of Hamilton.   As a result Lake Gibson was created in 1904 to store water in a reservoir for hydroelectric power generation at DeCew Falls 1 and later DeCew Falls 2.   Lake Gibson is the largest inland lake in Niagara, flowing from the south east under the DeCew Road bridge and at that point becoming Lake Moodie.  Lake Gibson is a man-made lake that covers what were once meadow lands at the top of the Niagara Escarpment. The lake was created by flooding the shallow valley of Beaverdams Creek which was a meandering stream flowing through this area.  Beaverdams Creek plunged over the Niagara Escarpment at Decew Falls where Morningstar Mill is located. This stream was subsequently dammed to create the Lake Moodie reservoir.

Further Information

DeCew Falls II: http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/niagara_plant_group/decew2.asp

Jackson, John N. The Welland Canals and Their Communities: Engineering, Industrial and Urban Transformation. University of Toronto Press, 1997.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=o-sI64yldu4C&pg=PA321&lpg=PA321&dq=DeCew+Falls+Water+Treatment+Plant+history&source=web&ots=nHKuP1xolt&sig=9Lu7-CfIUodDSA63qGU9nal9eYA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPP1,M1

Morningstar Cottage Bed and Breakfast:  http:/www.bbcanada.com/morningstar

Torontohiking.com http:/www.torontohiking.com/Falls/F04dsr/f04dsr.html