Island Falls, Saskatchewan
Island Falls is a hydroelectric power station operated by SaskPower, a Saskatchewan crown corporation. It is located on the Churchill River, about sixty miles (100 km) northwest of Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada.
Island Falls was the first hydroelectric power plant in Saskatchewan. It was built between 1928 and 1930 by the Churchill River Power Company, a subsidiary of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, to provide electricity for the HBM&S mining operations at Flin Flon and Cold Lake, Manitoba.
The drainage area above the power site covers much of northwest Saskatchewan, about 80,000 square miles (210,000 km2). The drainage basin contains several large lakes providing natural reservoirs, the main one being Reindeer Lake (2,300 sq.mi.).
As part of the consolidation of generation sources in the province, SaskPower purchased the plant from HBM&S in 1981, which continued to operate it for several years. Since 1985 the plant is entirely owned and operated by SaskPower.
The construction of the power plant was difficult, as transportation routes did not exist north of the rail-head in Flin Flon. In summer, forty-three miles of road were built between a series of six lakes, and scows installed on those lakes. Heavy hauling had to take place during a two-month period in late winter when the lake ice was thick enough. Construction material was carried a distance of 72 miles (115 km) by trains of up to six sleighs hauled by 100 hp (75 kW). Linn tractors. The average load was about 77 tons per train, while the total freight carried over two winters was 35,000 tons. At that time, it was considered to be the most ambitious winter hauling enterprise ever undertaken in Canada.
Power for construction was supplied by two small turbines at a temporary hydro-electric plant at Spruce Falls, 14 miles (22 km) down river (east), where Kipahigan (Barrier) Lake drains into the Churchill River.
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