The Welland Canal system connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through a series of eight locks, allowing ships to avoid the
51-metre-high Niagara Falls.
During the original construction of Locks 1, 2 and 3, weirs were built to regulate the water levels in the Canal. For more
than 70 years, water has been spilled at a rate of 20 m3/s.
The Seaway recognized that this spilled water can be captured for energy generation, a more useful purpose, with no
adverse effects to the environment. As a result, the concept of using the historic canal system as part of the solution to
promote the growth of clean renewable power to the people of Ontario was developed.
Hatch designed two water power facilities within the locks of the historic Welland Canal, converting previously spilled
water into green, renewable energy. This required development of economic and practical designs that were implemented
under a constrained winter construction schedule and challenging site conditions.
Construction was carried out on the Seaway’s locks without interfering with the operation, without fundamentally
changing the locks themselves, and without causing environmental losses.
In-water construction activities had to be conducted in the winter months when the canal was out of operation and
required special provisions such as cold weather concreting. The designs and construction were performed on a fast-track
basis to ensure the canal would be functional when normal canal operations resumed. Hatch’s designs accounted for the
fast-track schedule and were flexible enough to deal with challenging flow diversion conditions and severe winter
construction conditions.
By taking advantage of the existing Welland Canal conveyance infrastructure and regulating weirs, plus the head at the
locks between Lakes Erie and Ontario, the environmental footprint and life cycle emissions of these new hydroelectric
facilities are lower than at conventional greenfield sites.
- Both plants were built on time and on budget
- Locks 1 and 2 will generate 25 GWh of green energy and offset 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year
- Zero lost–time incidents.
- Award of Excellence, Canadian Consulting Engineer and Association of Consulting Engineering
Companies─Canada, 2009
