45. WATER POWERS. Some years ago the late T. C. Keefer, C.M.G., a distinguished Canadian engineer, in a presidential address before the Royal Society, described the water resources of Canada in the following words: An examination of any good map of our broad Domin ion, reveals, as its most striking feature. an extraordinarily wealthy and remarkably uninterrupted succession of lakes and rivers. suggestive of ample rainfall, the first great requi site in the occupation of any country. Over a length of several thousand miles, between Labrador and Alaska. and over a width of several hundred miles, there is an almost continuous distribution of lakes, lakelets and rivers; the lakes of varied outlines, dimensions and elevations above sea-level, and many possessing facilities for the storage of their flood waters. In many places the outlet from the lake or the connection between a chain of lakes is a narrow cleft in rock where an inexpensive dam will hold back the water supplied by the winter's accumulation of snow." These words were written shortly after the first successful transmission of high voltage electricity had opened a new era to water power, and they were designed to emphasize the fundamental advantages that Canada possessed under the new regime. Even in the days of the first Canadian settlers, however, when the harnessing of Niagara would have seemed the wildest of dreams, the earliest manufactures were prescribed by water power, and it was not until the late seventies that the water-driven saw mills and flour mills of Ontario ceased to occupy the premier place in the Canadian in dustrial scheme.
It would be easy, of course, to exaggerate the importance of water power and of Canada's wealth in that particular. Thus, though the Dominion has a water area of 125,755 square miles, as compared with only 52,630 square miles in the United States, many factors must be considered before such figures are taken at their face significance. The development of power is only one of many uses to which the water resources of the country may be put, and these uses include such important ones as navi gation, irrigation and domestic and municipal supply. Moreover, water area is not the same as volume of water, and the volume of water is only one factor in water power, the other being hydraulic head, or the vertical distance through which the water falls.
Nevertheless the resources of Canada in this respect are so great as to make moderate statement difficult. Within the nine provinces of the Dominion, excluding the Northwest ter ritories and the northern and eastern portions of Quebec, it is estimated that 17,746,000 horse power are available. Of this amount,- includ nig in the case of Niagara Falls and other international streams only such development as is permitted by treaty, and taking no account of the increases that would be rendered pos sible by storage,- fully 8,000,000 horse power are readily available to present markets.
Not more than one-fifth of this latter total and less than 10 per cent of the whole has been developed up to the present. By provinces, the record is as follows: Developed horse power Nova Scotia 21,412 New Brunswick 13,390 Prince Edward Island 500 Quebec 520,000 Ontario 719,466 Manitoba 56,730 Saskatchewan as Alberta 33,305 British Columbia 265,345 Yukon 12,000 Total 1,712,193 Of the above, about 75 per centgoes to the production of electrical energy, and over half the remainder to pulp and paper manufacture.
It is impossible within brief space to de scribe in any detail the progress that has been made in bringing this great asset into the serv ice of the community. It will be of interest, however to run over the several districts into which the country may be divided from this standpoint, noting in each the main develop ments and the promises that the future holds out. _ The Maritime Provinces.- Coal, timber and fish rather than secondary production are the industries for which the Atlantic provinces are known. The land area is not extensive and it is so cut up by the sea that with one or two exceptions no large river systems exist, while the smaller streams are tidal for considerable distances inland. Offsets, however, are found in the heavy rainfall and in the dispersion of water power sites, most of the seaports, where industrial activity may be expected to increase, having water powers in close proximity. Upon the whole, therefore, the power eqitipment of these provinces is considered satisfactory for present and future needs, though the latter include the heavy demands represented by the smelting of iron ores on a large scale and a considerable steel industry. Existing develop ments are mainly of two types: Saw, pulp and paper mills, based on the timber resources of the country; and municipal lighting plants. A few woolen and grist mills driven by water are also found. New Brunswick to date has de veloped about 13,000 horse power, the largest plant being at Aroostook Falls, where 3,800 horse power is manufactured, for sale chiefly in the State of Maine. Nova Scotia has over 21,000 horse power developed, more than half for the manufacture of pulp and paper; gold mining employs 1,150 horse power in this prov ince. The largest water power in the Maritime provinces and one of the largest sites in Canada is at Grand Falls on the Saint John River, where it is now proposed to instal 80,000 horse power. The Nepisguit is another New Bruns wick' stream which offers 10,000 horse power for development. The Mersey River in south western Nova Scotia has a potentiality of 30,000 horse power, of which only 4,250 is now in use.