# A visit to Canada's oldest hydroelectric station



## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

It was Doors Open Ottawa this weekend and I couldn't pass up a chance to visit the Chaudière Falls generating station. What you're seeing below is Canada's oldest operating hydroelectric generation station. This is plant #2; there are four plants on site producing 18MW.


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

Here's a video of the turbines in action: http://www.twitvid.com/NGKZV

I've been in a few hydroelectric generating stations and this is the first I've seen that has the turbines vertically mounted. They're also quite small. I'm guessing it's because it's an older run-of-river type station. All the other stations I've been in have been sourced from huge dammed lakes with very long water chutes.


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

I also visited ROPEC (Robert O Pickard Environmental Centre) which is Ottawa's massive and only waste water treatment facility. Here are a couple good shots. As you can see, if they'd just told us to bring our own hard hats, I wouldn't have looked so silly.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Really cool shots, thanks for posting and this one made me really laugh.











It is like they are pumping rap artists through a pipe.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Those horizontal units being driven through the bulkhead are pretty unusual for an old station. Now days it's common with an installation that looks like a big boat propeller, which is either a Kaplan or a propeller turbine (surprise, surprise).

I would expect something that old to be either a Francis or a Pelton turbine, they're just pretty rare to see horizontal.

Those are some great pictures! I really like that they kept everything so immaculate.

-John


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

Here is from a old dam I was at last year. Note frequency.


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

cguillas said:


> I also visited ROPEC (Robert O Pickard Environmental Centre) which is Ottawa's massive and only waste water treatment facility. Here are a couple good shots. As you can see, if they'd just told us to bring our own hard hats, I wouldn't have looked so silly.


 Nice pics.
Sorry I missed that open house. I would have liked to have seen that. 
I had a contract to demo part of the generating station in Waltham about twenty years ago,
very interesting. I live in the Pontiac, but my kids live in Ottawa.


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

I think I'd really enjoy occasional distribution work but I didn't take my apprenticeship with hydro. No matter; its not like they're building a lot of old-style generating stations these days. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong decade. 

Your kids in the trade?


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

Yup! My son is an electrical contractor in Ottawa. 



I really wish I had taken pictures of the job at the Waltham power dam.

I had old P.F meters, and other stuff that I salvaged. I kept them for years, and finally gave them away.

Now I wish I had kept some.


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## Phil DeBlanc (May 29, 2010)

The old Niagra River stations are all gone now in the name of progress. Fortunately someone preserved them in pictures for us on this site.
http://www.vanishingpoint.ca/powergeneration.html


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i like your ziggy stardust shirt


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

electricalperson said:


> i like your ziggy stardust shirt


It matched my pretty pink hat.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

How old is the plant?


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## cguillas (Jun 25, 2009)

This one was built in 1891 although it's been through a few refurbs. The whole facility generates about 2% of Ottawa's energy needs.


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