From the parking lot, you will see the stone foundation of historical DeCew House. Follow the Bruce Trail westward around the edge of Lake Moodie, which is a large reservoir that supplies water for the DeCew 1 and DeCew 2 hydroelectric plants. You will pass the Decew Water Treatment Plant managed by the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

You will come to the edge of the Niagara Escarpment where you are afforded a spectacular view spreading out far below, as well as of the generating station.

Hwy 406 exit # St. Davids Road West

Left on Merrittville Hwy at lights

Right on DeCew Road

670 meters 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.

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. It plunged over the Niagara Escarpment at Decew Falls where Morningstar Mill is located. This stream was subsequently dammed to provide the Lake Moodie reservoir. The landscape was further altered with various channels and canals to improve flow to the DeCew Falls generating station, and with the creation of additional reservoirs. Almost all of the water supplied to these lakes comes from Lake Erie via the Welland Canal, and the lakes form part of the Twelve Mile Creek watershed. DeCew Falls 2 is used mainly to supply peak-load power, water being diverted steadily from the canal (except when a ship is passing), and stored in Lake Gibson. So because of the fluctuating levels of water and ensuing currents, boating and swimming are not allowed.

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

DeCew Water Treatment Plant:
niagara_plant_group hydro power www.opg.com http:/www.stcatharines.ca/cityservices/citydepartments/engineering/eng_environmental_drinkwater.asp

Jackson, John N. The Welland Canals and Their Communities: Engineering, Industrial and Urban Transformation. University of Toronto Press, 1997
niagara_plant_group hydro power www.opg.com http:/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: niagara_plant_group hydro power www.opg.com http:/www.bbcanada.com/morningstar

Torontohiking.com niagara_plant_group hydro power www.opg.com http:/www.torontohiking.com/Falls/F04dsr/f04dsr.html

Ontario Power Generation
The Niagara Plant Group

Lake Moody Hydroelectric Reservoir - Lookout
St. Catharines, Ontario

Ontario Power Generation
Website www.opg.com/power/hydro/niagara_plant_group/