DeCew Power Generating Station was first designed on August 25th, 1898 and is the oldest continually running hydroelectric power generating station in Canada. It consists of a five-unit hydroelectric power station located on the Welland River which is close to St. Catharines, Ontario. This plant was strategically built in this location to utilize the unique topology of the Niagara Escarpment to produce electricity.
There were five major entrepreneurs all named John (Dickenson, Gibson, Moodie, Patterson, and Sutherland) and they formed the Cataract Power Company of Hamilton Ltd. Their plan was to generate and transmit electricity fifty-six kilometers to the city of Hamilton. The idea was to take advantage of the greater head of water at that point in the escarpment, and utilize Twelve Mile Creek as a tailrace. The water flowed down the escarpment in a single penstock, and was discharged through two turbines into Twelve Mile Creek.
Overtime, expansion work began very abruptly, and humans influenced new penstocks and extended the power house. DeCew I Power Generating Station produces clean, renewable electricity twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year, and is part of OPG's clean energy portfolio, which is more than nighty-nine per cent free of smog and carbon emissions.
The cultural and historical significance of this site stems from the pioneer settler who built and established the DeCew House, John DeCew. This location was utilized by the British army during the War of 1812 and was a renowned end point of Laura Secord's historic journey to warn a British commander of an impending attack by the Americans. After the war, John Decew restored and established this property, and the area became known as the 'Hamlet of Decew Town', also known as DeCew Falls.
Municipality: St. Catharine's
Local area name: DeCew Falls/Rotary Park
Other identifying names or descriptions: DeCew Power Generating Station I & II
Latitude and longitude: 43.118476, 79. 264103
Physical Dimensions
Length: 275.19m (902.85 ft)
Width: 125.26m (410.95 ft)
Surface Area: 30,084.94m (356,123.33 ft3)
Elevation:
568 ft/329 ftRotary Park is a thirteen-hectare parcel of land overlooking twelve-mile creek and looks over DeCew Power Generating Station. This park is designated to the "Tree Park" due to the vast majority of Oak trees. The park is known to a circular "Friendship Garden" established by Rotary International. Views from the park can see as far as Brock University, Twelve Mile Creek, DeCew Stations and the Niagara Escarpment.
The Park is home to many visitors who enjoy walking, biking, hiking and tobogganing in the winter time. Rotary Park is open from dusk to dawn and features the Laura Secord Legacy Trail.
Map 1: DeCew Power Generating Station headstocks above the Niagara Escarpment
Rotary Park and the DeCew Power Generating station are home to one of the most influential ecosystems known as the 'Ontario Carolinian Lifezone'. This Lifezone extends from Toronto to Lake Huron and Lake Erie. There are many unique plant species ranging from Ontario Carolinian Forests such as Tulip Trees, American Chestnut, Butternut, Ohio Buckeye, Pawpaw and Cucumber trees. There is a unique variety of bush species ranging from Burning bush, Button bush, Spice bush, Prickly ash and Witch hazel. This area of the Carolinian Lifezone is home to a vast amount of Oak Tree ranging from Carolinian Oak Trees, Burr Oak, Pin Oak, Red Oak, Black Oak and White Oak. There are many animal species known to the Carolinian Lifezone such as Opossum, Southern Flying Squirrel, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Ren, Eastern Hognose Snake, Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle.
Lifezone encompasses 1/3 of Canadas rare and endangered species, one of the most threatened landscapes in North America. (E.g., American Badger, Midland Painted Turtle, Jefferson Salamander, Monarch Butterfly, Wavy-Rayed Lampmussel, Southern Flying Squirrel, Canada Warbler). Changes that have occurred overtime due to human impact result from many Eurpoean Settlers who came over in the 1700's and burned down major areas of the Carolinian Lifezone to fuel their ships and mill machinery. Once leaving, they would burn the forests to the ground leaving little to no vegetation. Secondly, the recent developments on suburbs have made an impact on the habits of those animals and species residing along the Carolinian Lifezone.
Below, the biota from 1934 is clearly illustrated in the air photo. You can see that farms took over the land and there was little to no urban development.
The major physical features of the landscape include the unique topology of the Niagara escarpment. This rock consists of mainly of dolomitic limestone also knowns as "dolostone". The soils consist of water-stratified clay and silt to rich calcareous clay loam, most of this area soils are deep and moderately drained with good water-holding capacities.The escarpment thus formed over millions of years through a process of differential erosion of rocks of different hardnesses.
Rotary Park is a 32-acre land park. Rotary Park was originally opened June 9, 1983 by the president of Rotary International, Dr. Hiroji Mukasa of Nakatsu, Oiku Japan. Rotary Park originated as a landfill in the 1970s and later closed in November 1980s. Recent technologies were introduced to combat the leachate seepage and methane gas. After the demolition of landfill, the plot was covered over with a thin layer of clay and topsoil, and it was designated as a city park. The Park was officially opened in 1983 by Rotary International but was soon closed to the public for environmental reasons mainly related to the thin clay cap.
"The Mayor of St. Catharines, Brian McMullan on September 15, 2011, officially reopened Rotary Park. Without the help of the Rotary Club's Partners and individuals along with the Club's major grant and the endless hours of volunteer help to design and oversee the development by members of the Civic Affairs Committee Rotary Park would still be undeveloped and vacant." The park is mainly used for people to walk their dogs, cycle, hike, run and in winter children tobogganed down the slopes and others cross-country skied. Originally somewhat isolated, the Park has been surrounded by several new subdivisions since 2000, so it is now situated in a well-populated area. Rotary Park overlooks 12 Mile Creek and is directly across from DeCew Power Generating Station I and II. Humans have impacted that park by planting various trees to commemorate lost loved ones in the St. Catharines area. (74 trees in total). In addition to the newly planted trees, The Rotary Club of St. Catharines has planted a raised garden known as the 'Friendship Garden'.
The water collects in forebay at the top of the escarpment in lake Gibson before entering the Penstocks of the Power Generating Station. "The water for the station was drawn from the Third Welland Canal via a feeder canal originating at Allanburg, and was originally stored in three small reservoirs called Lakes Gibson, Moodie, and Patterson, located where Lake Moodie is now." In 1904, two huge new reservoirs, Lakes Moodie and Gibson, were created. "Lake Gibson lay astride the water supply to the St. Catharines Waterworks, the aqueduct was abandoned and a weir at Allanburg split the feeder canal in two, one branch leading to Lake Gibson and the other to the waterworks."The water then exits into 12 Mile Creek.
HOW DOES A HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANT WORK?
Erosion has been a main factor overtime of the evolution of the escarpment. Roughly over 450 million years ago, majority of the area was covered in a shallow sea. This sea covered a large portion of North America and pooled in a depression known as the Michigan Basin. The majority of the sea was filled with early life which survived on the muddy/clay bottom and coral reefs. As this wildlife disintegrated, many of their bodies settled on the bottom of the sea bed. Various substances such as mud, clay and sand which is called "sediment" would wash into the sea and cover the remnants of sea creatures. Sediment is derived from the wearing down of mountains and hills due to weather and water ways. As time prevailed, layers of depsited sediment and remains were compressed and evolved into rock substances. Mud and silt would form layers of shale and sand into sandstone as well as corals and calcium-rich exoskeletons and lime mud into limestone. Fossils formed by the remains of the sea species within the sediment. The layers of rock surrounding the Niagara escarpment are composed of fossils of nearly 30 million years due to evolution. Due to a chemical reaction between calcium carbonate (lime) and the reefs and shells, the liquid magnesium over a duration of time created a hard, resistant layer of magnesium-calcium carbonate know as dolomite (dolostone). "Once the sea dried up, a plain emerged and erosion began to recontour the landscape. The erosion forces of water and wind thinned the dolomite cap rock and eroded the softer layers of rock beneath forming a small ridge of exposed rock, along the edge of the dry seabed of the Michigan Basin." In turn, what was left behind was a ridge, a vertical face of exposed rock, creating the unique topology of the escarpment cliffs. During the ice age, around 10,000 years ago, the most recent shaping of the Niagara Escarpment occurred.
The most Southern Ontario landscape we see today is greatly influenced by the recession of the Wisconsin Glacier. As the glacier receded, is scraped away everything in its path, laying the landscape bare to the bedrock. It would push or pull top soil and sedimentary rock along its path of movement. This is known to a procedure of "glacial till".
The micro climate is well moderated throughout the year, with higher elevation, temperatures warm gradually in the spring. Climate change will also affect the generation of electricity. Lower water levels in Lake Erie and the Niagara and Welland Rivers, for example, will reduce flows to the DeCew Power Generating Station, affecting their output. The seasons of the area following Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter year round adding to the unique climate of Rotary Park.
The station gets its name from John DeCew (also spelled DeCou, DeCow or Du Coo), a pioneer settler who built DeCew House, the two-story limestone structure used by the British army during the War of 1812. The house was the famous destination of Laura Secord's historic journey to warn British commander Lieutenant James FitzGibbon of an impending attack by the Americans. After the war, John Decew restored and developed this property, and the area became known as the Hamlet of Decew Town (now DeCew Falls).
The history of the land began in the 1700's in relation to the Carolinian Lifezone, many settlers would burn the forest harwood for commercial usages in fueling (charcoal) their ships, trains and mill machinery. In turn, they would burn the entire forest to the ground and leave little to no vegetation. Therefore, the Rotary Club of St. Catharines is working so hard to reestablishing the wildlife component of the park. Expansion into the suburbs has impacted Rotary Park. Where there once was farms and livestock is now crisp suburbia. Land was once a landfill zone where waste removal was kept. Overtime in the late 80's, this was shut down and Rotary Park was built on top of the landfill.
Education / Interpretation:
Rotary Park has established an interpretive sign system consisting of a series of information panels and signs strategically placed throughout the Park to explain various meeting points. These points consist of ecosystem development and the natural history of the area, sites of historical significance, landfill reclamation and the importance of recycling, power generation and related safety issues and an interconnected trail system providing access to these sites and beyond.
Architectural Heritage:
Rotary Park has opened and closed on various occasions which were due to ecological issues overtime. The land has been preserved by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines along with various volunteers. The 'Friendship Garden' is representation of how the park is being recreated to signify the destination for Laura Secord's Legacy walk.
Recreational Uses:
Rotary Park is home to various recreational trails such as hiking, mountain bike routes and winter tobogganing by locals and visitors to the Niagara Region. Rotary Park is known as a connection to the Bruce Trail as well as the Laurel Secord Legacy Trail. In the winters, it is a common area for tobogganing down the embankment.
The Ontario Power Generation owns the DeCew Power Generating Station and has also made great donations to Rotary Park. Rotary Park is owned by the City of St Catharines however, is maintained and kept by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines. Public access is permitted in Rotary Park from dusk to dawn however, visiting of the DeCew Power Generating Station is not permitted without allowance of OPG via direct contact. Over time the park was reopened and shut down for various reasons due to leachage and methane gas. However, in 2011 the park was reopened after various renovations to bring the park up to standard.
The major adjacent usages include 12 Mile Creek which overlooks DeCew Power Generating Station. There are various trails such as the Bruce trail which runs through the escarpment as well as the Laurel Secord Legacy Trail. Lake Gibson is the forebay to the DeCew Power Generating Station and is on the top end of the escarpment (Lake Moodie).
Many donations were made possible by the following individuals and companies to support the opening and maintenance of the park.
Donations:
This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Kateri Vanderheyden for the Brock University course TOUR 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 2nd, 2018.
All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.
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