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20-579: The Tay Canal is the portion of the Tay River in the eastern Ontario region, providing a connection between the town of Perth and the Rideau Canal at Beveridge Bay on Lower Rideau Lake . The canal is 9.8 km (6.1 miles) in length and is operated today by Parks Canada as part of their Rideau Canal operations. At the entrance to the Tay Canal are two locks, Upper and Lower Beveridge Locks, which provide

40-429: A weir , near the community of Bolingbroke in geographic South Sherbrooke Township, part of the municipality of Tay Valley . It heads northeast, passes under Lanark County Road 36 , reaches Christie Lake and passes there into geographic Bathurst Township. It continues northeast, passes under Lanark County Road 6, and divides into two channels; the right channel is known as Scotts Snye. The river then travels through

60-405: A contract with A.H. Manning & Macdonald Company for the construction of the Tay Canal. The proposal included deepening the entire system to the required 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) depth; cutting a 18 m (59 ft) wide, 2 km (1.2 mi) long canal to Beveridge Bay; building two locks near the south end of the canal cut, each with a lift of 4.0 m (13.1 ft); and building

80-512: A depth in the channel of 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in). This was a less expensive option and it was felt that it would accommodate most of the commercial traffic of the day. By the end of 1834, five locks, six dams (with timber slides), two swing bridges and several embankments were built. This became known as the First Tay Canal. The First Tay Canal was never a commercial success. Revenues were not sufficient to allow proper maintenance and

100-687: A flat overflow dam across the former channel of the Tay near the entrance to the new canal cut. The locks were built to the same design and specifications as the Rideau Canal locks. Started in early 1885, they were completed in 1887. Final excavation of the canal to the required navigation depth and an expansion of the basin in Perth were not completed until 1891. For a time, the canal from the Beveridges Locks to Perth became known as "Haggart's Ditch". The Tay Canal

120-496: A total lift of 7.6 m (25 ft). Proposals to make the Tay into a navigable waterway date to 1824, when local Perth entrepreneur William Morris started to lobby for this. When the construction of the Rideau Canal started in 1826, Perth business interests hoped that this would include the Tay, but the Superintending Engineer for the Rideau Canal, Lt. Colonel John By had no mandate to build any branch canals. So it

140-521: A trip all the way into Perth is the fixed height of the Craig Street bridge (2.1 metres (6.9 feet)). If a vessel is taller than this, the vessel will have to dock at Last Duel Park, a short walk from downtown Perth. If a vessel is less than 2.1 metres above the waterline but taller than 1.6 metres (5.2 feet), the vessel's operator will have to have the Beckwith Street Bridge swung open to get into

160-553: Is currently operated by Parks Canada as part of their Rideau Canal operations. In normal conditions, the canal can handle boats up to 27.4 metres (90 feet) in length, 7.9 metres (26 feet) in width, and 6.7 metres (22 feet) in height with a draft of up to 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) (boats drafting over 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) are asked to contact the Rideau Canal Office of Parks Canada prior to their trip). The locks are in operation from mid-May to mid-October. The limiting factor for

180-500: The Perth basin. Vessel operators should mention this to the lock staff at Beveridges who can advise when the bridge will swing. Tay River (Ontario) The Tay River watershed, covering a drainage area in excess of 800 square kilometers, is the westmost of the 6 recognized subwatersheds managed by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority . This river starts at Bobs Lake and leaves the lake, controlled by

200-690: The Pike River; the name Tay replaced it at some time during the arrival of many Scottish settlers after the founding of the Perth Military Settlement in 1816, doubtless in reference to the River Tay in Scotland. The new name was already clearly established during the construction of numerous mills on the river in the 1820s, and the Tay Canal in the 1830s. Mills on the Tay, the Tay Canal, and more broadly

220-598: The community of Glen Tay , continuing to Perth . The river splits into two main channels as it flows through downtown Perth . The two channels have recombined by the time it leaves Perth and continues to the Rideau River, which drains via the Ottawa River into the Saint Lawrence River. The river is 95 kilometres (59 miles) in length and drains an area of 850 square kilometres (330 square miles). A canal connects

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240-559: The condition of the canal deteriorated over the years. In 1865, several of the locks were destroyed by logs and the canal was shut down. After the demise of the First Tay Canal, a political lobby started to build a new canal. The Government of Canada had taken over the Tay Navigation Company, and in 1881, they initiated an investigation into making the Tay navigable to Perth. Perth's local member of parliament, John G. Haggart, had some influence in launching this investigation which

260-510: The general public to protect the natural resources of the Rideau River watershed. The watershed drains an area of over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) of eastern Ontario and includes towns such as Portland, Perth , Smith Falls , Merrickville , Kemptville , and Manotick . About 620,000 live in the watershed, mostly deriving from the City of Ottawa . There are 18 municipalities within

280-466: The resultant access to the Rideau Canal system provided important commercial connections from Frontenac and Lanark Counties to Ottawa and markets beyond, in particular for logging. Dams on the upper Tay created lakes (e.g. Bobs Lake) that were reservoirs of water for the Rideau Canal at the time, and are important to cottagers and seasonal residents today. Following municipal amalgamation in Ontario in 1998,

300-488: The river has provided its name to the municipality of Tay Valley, Ontario , even though the municipality neither wholly contains, nor is wholly contained by, the Tay River watershed. Rideau Valley Conservation Authority The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) is an inter-municipal environmental protection and advisory agency that works with local municipalities, government agencies, special interest groups and

320-676: The river to the Tay Canal , and Rideau Canal systems at Beveridge Bay on Lower Rideau Lake. Abbott, Barton, Carnahan, Clow, Danby, Duncan, Eagle, Elbow, Leggat, Little Beaver, Little Mud, Long, Miller, Oconto, Scanlin, Spruce, Watson Atwood, Beaver, Bobs & Crow, Buck Bay, Burns Pond, Christie, Crosby, Davern, Deer, Doran, Farrell, Green Bay, Lake of the Hills, Little Crosby, Little Rock, Little Silver, Little Twins, Lynn, Mud Bay, O’Brien, Pike, Rainbow, Rock (north), Sucker, Thompson Pond, Victoria, Weatherhead Andrew, Doctor McLaren, Mills, Mud, Otty, Rock (south), Thoms Mud The Tay River

340-635: The valley and most people, outside of Ottawa, draw their drinking water from the river or from groundwater. The mission of the RVCA is to have clean drinking water, natural shorelines, and sustainable land use throughout the Rideau Valley watershed. The RVCA provides office space, staff, and expertise to the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation (RVCF) and their environmental projects, while managing all of its conservation lands. The RVCF

360-427: Was carried out by the engineers of the Rideau Canal under the direction of Superintendent Wise. Two routes were examined, one following the route of the First Tay Canal to Port Elmsley and a second involving a canal cut from Beveridge Bay of Lower Rideau Lake to the Tay River. To the disappointment of the residents of Port Elmsley, the second route was chosen. In 1883, a Government of Canada Order-in-Council authorized

380-465: Was decided to form a company to build the Tay Canal. On 16 March 1831, legislation to form the Tay Navigation Company was passed. In 1831, John Jackson, an ex-Sergeant in the army and a miller in Perth was awarded the contract to build the canal. The route would lead from Perth to the mouth of the Tay River. The locks were to be smaller than those on the Rideau, only 27 by 6.1 m (89 by 20 ft), and

400-567: Was formed during the retreat of the Champlain Sea after the last ice age. The name given to it by the Mississauga First Nation , who controlled its territory at the time of the arrival of the first European settlers, appears to have not been recorded. They used its territory for hunting, especially in the winter, and likely harvested manoomin (wild rice) on some of its lakes, for instance Christie Lake. Early European settlers called it

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