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DIR Return to: Perinton/Fairport Canal Community Discussion
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#Post#: 1352--------------------------------------------------
They pulled the drain plug on the Erie Canal - really early!
DIR By: Michael Caswell
Date: November 28, 2020, 10:24 am
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Has anyone noticed how early the NYPA drained the canal this
year? It's almost a month sooner than normal, usually just
after Thanksgiving.
And just take a look at it today, it's almost bone dry, only a
couple of buckets worth of water left in it.
Meanwhile, all along the canal where they have completed the
EEIP work (chopped the trees & brush down) the canal is FULL!
This means the NYPA considers the embankment to be SAFELY &
FULLY RESTORED.
So, what's going on?
Mr. Doug K says, "I heard the canal may stay filled here all
year long on the western end. Too bad Perinton, Pittsford and
Brighton sued to keep unsafe embankments from being cleared.
Those communities can thank the STCC (Stop The Clear Cut Ms Agte
& Co) for the early canal draining."
Could it be that this is the first sign of the impending
restoration of our section of the canal (from Pittsford to
Fairport)?
They'd need to make sure there was absolutely no chance of a
flood, while they do the dangerous work of removing very large
trees and roots from this particularly steep canal embankment.
It's all to do with the PHREATIC LINE
HTML https://eriecanalfacts.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/association-of-state-dam-safety-officials/
And making sure the soil is completely dry, I'm sure.
I believe there will be some activity early in The New Year.
Personally, I am looking forward to seeing the panoramic view of
all the trees in the valley below. Apparently, in days gone by,
it was considered quite a feature by the folks on the barges.
[attachimg=1]
If you look at the tree line in this photo, (Oxbow Lake) you'll
see there is quite a noticeable dip in the height of the tops of
those trees located in the center.
And on the other side of the embankment, you can see a patch of
ground which is almost bare of vegetation (Google maps). This is
the exact spot where the canal breached circa 1912, and I
believe all the good soil was washed out, consequently the
vegetation is somewhat stunted.
Or could it be that the center of the Oxbow Lake Embankment Dam
is slowly failing and sinking towards an eventual breach &
flood, that is called a "slump".
Time will tell which of these has happened.
#Post#: 1353--------------------------------------------------
Re: They pulled the drain plug on the Erie Canal - really early!
DIR By: Doug K
Date: November 29, 2020, 9:42 am
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Mike, you are absolutely right on this one... last year there
was water in your section just about all winter long if I
remember.
For the past few seasons the New York State Canal Corporation
has "de-watered" The Erie Canal in the week after Thanksgiving
along most of the State. Sometime they might refill to test
repairs they have made at the start of their winter maintenance
season. It just might be that the new owners of the NYS Canal
System are preparing for the Clearing & Rehabilitation of the
miles of UNSAFE earthen embankments in your area.
New York Power Authority (NYPA) & the New York State Canal
Corporation (NYSCC) just might want more time to allow their
dams to "dry out" before they start driving large equipment on
the Empire State Canal Trail that is needed for cutting &
hauling all those trees. They may have learned their lesson from
the muddy mess they created on the western end trail, when they
cleared unsafe trees in 2018/2019.
We are full here, take a look.
[attachimg=1]
It could be they will drain the canal this coming week out here,
but their own Profile Map and past statements may hold another
clue.
HTML http://www.canals.ny.gov/navinfo/charts/mileage.jpg
[attachimg=2]
Part of the Reimagine the Canals effort (by NYPA & NYSCC) have
stated they are trying to replenish the natural water supply
NORTH of the Canal that has been shutoff for the past 200 years
by the Canal itself. Keeping this western section of the Erie
Canal full, for a LONGER time, will allow farmers in the area to
start tapping into canal water many miles away from the actual
canal itself.
The Canal Corporation only needs to open existing drain gates
that will fill local streams & rivers (that cross under or
through the waterway) to accomplish this simple irrigation task.
Don't be surprised if the Erie/Barge Canal remains open all year
long west of Rochester, in an attempt to see if this Canal
Irrigation Plan is possible and can be sustained without causing
any winter damage to the waterway.
Also, don't be surprised if this causes many local businesses to
change how and where they operate, especially companies like the
Colonial Belle, who could have a nice place to "winter" their
ship in Brockport and keep their restaurant service open. All it
takes is a bubbler system to keep a steel hulled ship in the
water year round.
#Post#: 1354--------------------------------------------------
Speaking of the Phreatic Line - Here's what it looks like
DIR By: Doug K
Date: November 29, 2020, 12:26 pm
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The ECNA posts have mentioned this Phreatic Line quite a bit,
but to some it might still be a mystery. So I have a couple nice
pictures to explain it and also show what happens when the
phreatic line starts to fail on an embankment dam. These
pictures & videos are taken in my own backyard which has a 20
foot tall leaking canal embankment in the eastern corner of our
two acre lot.
Go to this webpage to see a great explanation of the Phreatic
Line -
HTML https://ecna.us/canal-facts/the-embankment-dam-phreatic-line-where-the-water-goes/
Basically all earthen dams work the same way. They leak LOTS of
water from the water-filled side of the dam, through all of the
earth used to build the embankment. Dam Leaking starts BELOW the
waterline of the impounded water, and will eventually leak away
at the base of the earthen dam known as the Toe of Slope. Along
the Erie Canal any embankment that is about 16-18' tall should
have water coming out where the outside slope of the earthen dam
meets the original level ground.
Most places along the Erie Canal embankment collect this leaking
water in a ditch called the Toe Drain. This drain carries
leaking canal water back into culverts or creeks and into the
general aquifer system. After awhile the lower sections of all
earthen dams become so saturated that the top soil becomes full
of water and can't even take even a normal rainfall. All of this
water will eventually find it's way into these Toe Drains.
Normally the leak is very slow, like in the image below that
shows a 20' tall dam section with a leaking Phreatic Line.
There are three marked leaks in this embankment and all 3 leaks
are located about 24-30" above the bottom floor of the canal. If
you look across the pink marked stakes that were placed in this
section, by the NYS Canal Corporation in 2019 during their first
canal inspection in 75 years, you will note that this leak is
about 25-35 feet long as well.
In 2019 the NYS Canal Corporation Embankment Restoration Project
removed trees that had died on the embankment and were over 80
feet tall. This leak is most likely caused by old roots and
piping that is now moving water along old dead roots and that
water has breached out of it's normal Phreatic Line.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
So there you have it, a brief explanation of the Phreatic Line
and why it's critical to be able to see if it's working
properly.
This Phreatic Line in this section if dam is compromised and is
now being monitored by the NYS Canal Corporation to see if flow
eventually slows. If it gets worse, there are ways to insure the
embankment will not break using steel barrier walls.
The most important part of any Erie Canal Embankment is most
likely this "unseen" part that can cause an entire dam to
collapse if not maintained properly or identified with line of
sight inspections. Those inspections are IMPOSSIBLE to perform
with canal embankment covered with trees & underbrush, which is
why the Canal Corporation has now undertaken a new Embankment
Integrity Program to clear these old dams, and perform proper
inspections to identify more leaks like these three.
Here's our leak when it's full and ready to become our winter
skating pond.
[attachimg=3]
Our canal leak went "unclaimed" for 20+ years, while the NYS
Canal Corporation denied it was "their water" flooding our yard.
Once the NYS Canal Ownership changed in 2017, to the New York
Power Authority, the new owners have not only taken ownership of
this leak, they have also cleared 27 miles of other leaking
canal embankment sections, that are keeping many canal neighbors
in danger.
These new owners, NYPA, seem to be putting Erie Canal Safety &
Sustainability, and the safety of Canal Neighbors FIRST on their
list, which is a welcome change for many neighbors who have
complained about overgrown embankments and leaky water for years
and have gone unheard until now.
It is no secret that the amount of active Erie Canal leaks being
monitored by the NYSCC, since they have started their Embankment
Integrity Program, has grown five-fold. Those leaks are now
being monitored, and corrective action can be taken, if and when
needed, to avert a catastrophic flood in many areas west of
Rochester. Many leaks like this are still undetected and growing
worse over time. Each has the potential to be the next Erie
Canal disaster that makes the National News cycle
There are still 100 miles of unsafe canal embankments that still
need to be cleared though, many in the towns & villages that
fought to stop the canal embankment work in their own
communities. Those people who stopped the Embankment Integrity
Program said they were doing it for the good of the public.
Sadly they didn't hear the words of the OWNERS of the Erie
Canal, who was saying the exact same thing, the embankments were
being cleared for the SAFETY of the Public.
Time will tell who was correct... those who wanted to run a
Public Safety Program on the Erie Canal or those who chose to
stand in the way of Erie Canal Safety and fought to keep these
leaking embankments from being cleared, and having all these
leaks discovered and repaired.
Maybe want to ask yourself which side of that decision YOU want
to be on?
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