McArthur Falls Generating Station

April 18, 2021

This article was done in partnership with the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society.
It appeared in the May 6, 2021 edition of the Lac du Bonnet Clipper.

In the early 1900s, following the success of the Pinawa generating station, Winnipeg officials turned their attention to harnessing more of the Winnipeg River to power the thriving city. Throughout 1906, representatives for J.D. McArthur petitioned the Power Committee to build at his site, McArthur Falls, 16 km north of town. McArthur’s engineers boasted of the “remarkable water storage possibilities in Lac du Bonnet.” The city’s engineers disagreed, reporting that the falls were unsuited for development.  

Over the next four decades of hydro development on the Winnipeg River, McArthur Falls was continually brought up, only to be rejected each time. Officials thought the limited power capabilities of the smallest falls on the river made construction of a generating station at McArthur financially impossible.

By 1950, McArthur Falls was the last undeveloped site on the Winnipeg River. Winnipeg’s growth outpaced the power generated by the completed plants and options were limited. The development of plants on northern rivers would take time. McArthur was viewed as an interim solution, even as engineers warned that the power produced would only cover one year of the city’s growth, citing the “return would not be worth the investment.” Many proposed the expansion of the Great Falls generating station, over the new construction at McArthur Falls. Even the provincial government was against development at McArthur, but ultimately supported the City’s decision to absorb the excess costs in favour of a location closer to Winnipeg.

By June 1952, work crews cleared land around McArthur Falls and the CPR had until the end of September to lay a spur line. For months, rumours circulated through Lac du Bonnet that the water would rise fifteen feet at town dock. One old timer wondered if they all needed to “take shelter at Milner Ridge” while they followed “the example of Noah” to prepare for the flood.

The reality of the situation was no better. Eviction notices were sent to residents living in the flood zone, allowing six months to vacate the land. Some 7,000 acres were affected, including 40-60 houses and other buildings. At a community meeting with Premier Campbell in August 1952, residents strongly protested compensation amounts and the government’s assurances to have their homes moved to satisfactory sites. Many of the residents told to vacate their land by September 4 were pensioners who had no funds available to move their houses. The chairman of the hydro-electric board stated “these persons were on leased Crown property” and a six month cancellation clause was included in the agreement for these situations where “the government needed the property.”

By late 1954, as the McArthur Falls generating station neared completion, the Dominion Public Works Department reconstructed the town dock to the required height and the Winnipeg River bridge was raised four feet, two and a half inches. The village’s new sewer system was installed and, while the river fluctuated, Central Northern Airways used McIntosh’s field just north of the village as a runway.

Between November 1954 and spring 1955, the water of the Winnipeg River rose in three stages, at a rate of six inches per day, to reach a total of fourteen feet. Construction crews battled through “two of the worst building seasons in Manitoba history” and in 1954, “fought through the highest flood levels ever experienced on the river” to finish the generating station by the December 1954 deadline. The first generators were put on line December 17, just as the hydro board questioned their ability “to produce enough power from its other plants to meet demand.” The McArthur Falls generating station was completed in June 1955, marking the end of power site development on the Winnipeg River.

References:

“Cheap Power for Winnipeg.” Winnipeg Tribune, May 22, 1906.

“Makes Offer of Power.” Winnipeg Tribune, Oct. 9, 1906.

“Immediate Lease is Favored at Ottawa.” Winnipeg Free Press, May 8, 1928.

“Power Negotiations Speed-up Held Vital.” Winnipeg Free Press, July 4, 1950.

W.S. Kennard, Springfield Leader, Jan. 29, 1952.

“Manitoba to Probe North for Power.” Winnipeg Free Press, March 15, 1952.

“McArthur Falls Site Under Study.” Winnipeg Free Press, May 1, 1952.

“To Rush Work on Power Project.” Winnipeg Free Press, June 19, 1952.

“Higher Lake Level Sought for Power.” Winnipeg Tribune, Aug. 8, 1952.

“Government Experts Study New Power Proposals.” Winnipeg Free Press, Aug. 15, 1952.

“Lac du Bonnet Residents Protest Provincial Government Compensation.” Springfield Leader, Aug. 19, 1952.

“Winnipeg River Bridge Under Construction.” Springfield Leader, Sept. 21, 1954.

“Lac du Bonnet.” Springfield Leader, Sept. 28, 1954.

“Lac du Bonnet Chamber of Commerce Have Busy Meet.” Springfield Leader, Oct. 12, 1954.

“Public Notice Respecting Water Levels in the vicinity of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba.” Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 29, 1954.

“Lac du Bonnet.” Springfield Leader, Dec. 7, 1954.

“Giant Power Plant Surges into Action.” Winnipeg Free Press, Dec. 17, 1954.

“McArthur Completes River Power Sites.” Winnipeg Tribune, July 8, 1955.