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Kawishiwi Falls ribbon cutting marks changes at Winton Hydroelectric Plant

by Nancy McReady

 
END OF THE TRAIL leads to a good view of Kawishiwi Falls. Photo by Pam Roberts

The Winton Hydroelectric facility was built in 1922 by the Minnesota Utilities Company. It is located within the Kawishiwi watershed which covers 1,200 square miles of land and water. This watershed includes Bald Eagle Lake, Gabbro Lake, North and South Kawishiwi rivers, Isabella Lake and River, Birch Lake, White Iron Lake, Farm Lake and Garden Lake.

The four megawatt plant became part of the Minnesota Power system in late 1922.

On April 24, 1997 Minnesota Power began the re-licensing process for the Winton Hydro Project on Fall Lake. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a new 40 year license to Minnesota Power on April 15, 2004.

Significant outcomes of the licensing process include: Continued operation of the Winton Hydro Project for 40 more years. The enhancement of water flows and reservoir levels for recreation, fish and other aquatic habitat. Annual funding for recreation, erosion control and biological study within the watershed. Recreation enhancements at the Garden Lake Boat Launch and Shorefishing Facility, the Birch Lake Wayside Rest and rerouting the portage around the falls.

And finally, establishing minimum water flows for the Kawishiwi Falls and a public access - an early vision of the Minnesota DNR Trails and Waterways? Steve Mueller and is now a symbol of Winton Hydro, as well as a new-found asset for the communities of Winton and Ely.

Nine years after the process began, several members of the Winton Hydro Project re-licensing collaborative team gathered at the ribbon cutting of the Kawishiwi Falls off the Fernberg Road on May 25, 2006.

This was in fulfillment of one of the settlement agreement?s requirements of creating recreation sites within the project area.

The collaborative team consisted of staff from Minnesota Power, the Minnesota DNR, the US Forest Service, the Minnesota PCA, and representatives from the White Iron Chain of Lakes and Conservationists with Common Sense.

John Paulson, Minnesota Power Supervisor of Land and Property Management, welcomed all the guests which also included Winton mayor Lee Tessier, Ely mayor Roger Skraba, several of the USFS and DNR personnel who were instrumental in building the trail to the falls viewing area, and Peter Bonk with the Minnesota Conservation Corp. Minnesota Power?s Public Recreation staff was involved in constructing the new canoe portage and the interpretive sign placed at the falls.

The Kawishiwi Falls is the result of a 67-foot drop. The water retaining structures which consists of the Birch Lake Dam that controls the water level and flow from the Birch Lake Reservoir, and the Winton Dam which controls the water level of the Garden Lake Reservoir and the flow from the Winton Hydro to Fall Lake. At the time of the ribbon cutting the water flow over the Kawishiwi Falls was 2400 cubic feet per second (CFS). On prescribed weekends and holidays throughout the spring and summer months, aesthetic flows will be provided to the Kawishiwi Falls.

In addition to the ribbon cutting of the Kawishiwi Falls, this year marks the centennial of Minnesota Power, celebrating 100 years of providing electrical power to 137,000 customers throughout northern and central Minnesota.

Al Hodnik, Minnesota Power Vice President of Generation Operations, spoke to the crowd gathered in the newly constructed parking lot at the head of the Kawishiwi Falls trail.

?The Winton Hydro Station and the Kawishiwi Falls are emblematic of Minnesota Power?s continuing commitment to provide a balanced stewardship of our natural resources,? said Hodnik. ?This is done to both maintain this wonderful source of clean, renewable electric energy as well as enhance environmental quality and public enjoyment of ?Our Shared Northern Waters.??

Also taking the podium were Laurie Martinson, DNR director of Trails & Waterways and Sue Duffy, USFS Kawishiwi District. Each agency played a big part in the re-licensing process and in the construction of the falls trail and viewing area.

Representatives for Conservationists with Common Sense (CWCS) and White Iron Chain of Lakes Association (WICOLA) spoke of the concerns they brought to the collaborative team. At a time in the 1990s when environmental groups were pushing for the removal of dams throughout the United States, they wanted to see the continuation of the Winton Power Dam in providing a clean source of electricity. Other concerns of CWCS and WICOLA were the regulation of water levels of area lakes, erosion of the shorelines, the affect of the dam on plant life, and the affect of waters going into the Boundary Waters.

Peter Bonk, youth program manager for the Minnesota Conservation Corp, spoke about the great team of young people who worked on the trail. He said when the group was told they were to build the one-third mile trail in two weeks they got off to a slow start. Only 50 feet of progress was made in the first day. As the days went by, the young teens made better progress, and in fact finished the trail to the falls viewing stage half a day ahead of schedule.

Following the ribbon cutting the guests were invited to hike the trail and visit the falls. Hikers were cautioned to be careful as they walked, as the rocks around the falls are extremely slippery and rugged. The hike to the falls is about 100 rods one way.

A shuttle brought guests to the Winton Hydro Station where they were served lunch. Jack Hautala, Winton Hydro Station maintenance and relief operator and then superintendent for over 40 years told the story about the small, white building near the dam.

?The building looks like an outhouse,? said Hautala. ?It is in fact a guard lookout shack. During World War II there was great concern that airplanes would come and bomb the power dam which was a source of energy for the Ely area iron mines. Guards were stationed in the lookout shack.?

Hautala said a log boom was built to slow an overflow of water from a possible break of the dam upstream. There was also a concern that the plant?s transformers could be shot at from Fall Lake.

The guard shack was never removed. It remains as a reminder of the vulnerability of the power plant at a time of war and now serves as a tool supply shack.

Guests were also given an opportunity to tour the station and the historic caretaker?s cabin. There were also four houses built on the Winton Hydro grounds that housed the workers. The caretaker?s cabin was never used as such, but rather as a guest cabin for visitors. The houses were removed from the grounds in the 1960s. Only the one caretaker's cabin and a garage remain.

Minnesota Power has made several shoreline lots within the Winton Hydro Project area available for lease. Lots are located on Garden Lake near Deer Ridge Resort and on Fall Lake east of the Power Dam. Interested parties can go to: www.mpland.com for more information.