Ice breaker keeps waters moving on the Niagara River

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When you think of the work that an ice-breaker does, you think of a ship that cuts a channel in the ice, to allow other ships to pass through. However, not all ice breakers are concerned with the movement of ships, some of them are concerned with the movement of water, as well.

There aren’t many ships that go sailing the waters of the river just above the falls, so navigation isn’t the big issue for the Niagara Queen. Instead, the ice-breaker is concerned with keeping the waters of the river moving at a steady rate, to help millions of people, on land. Nearly two million homes in Ontario, and New York, depend on the work of the Niagara Queen. On this day, the ice-breaker will clear a large sheet of ice away from the control dam, and water intakes – used to generate hydro electricity

The progress of the ship is monitored from the control tower overlooking the dam, and a close eye is kept not only on what’s in the river, but what may be a problem on the horizon.
“We always try to look ahead at what could be coming down the pipe at us. So today we’re doing some preliminary work, some preparation work for ice floes that could worsen in the next few days” explains Peter Kowalski from Ontario Power Generation.

It’s kind of like a weather forecast, for ice conditions, and just as tricky, on both ends. The ship is battling winds and currents…ice that wants to go one way…and shallow areas that present other hazards. “The captain has to be careful so that it doesn’t bottom out”

The ice on the river can be upwards of 10 feet thick. It’s about half that right now, and the Niagara Queen is having no trouble pushing its way through the ice sheet near the dam.

The volume and flow of the water are critical elements to the power companies, because they determine how much it actually costs to generate electricity. Too low, and the cost to make power goes up, and that gets expensive- for everyone.