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SPILLWAYS

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CBWC:  Fountains and Sprinklers

There are no fountains in this town. We don’t use sprinklers much because we are always being careful of water use. So when I went looking for pictures of fountains or sprinklers, I found nothing. I couldn’t remember ever taking a picture of a fountain or sprinkler.

Blackstone River with a closed spillway
Closed spillway. Canal (and its locks) are on the left, river to the right

I went instead with the spillways from the dams. I didn’t have any fountains or sprinklers, but there are more than 46 dams in the valley. The spillway is sort of fountain-like. It is a release area through which they push water when they are holding back the main body of water but want to some through to keep the fish alive. It’s also how they release extra water when it has been raining a lot.

All our dams are more than 100 years old and some are more than 200 years old. Big, modern dams have more sophisticated and far more complicated methods for controlling water, but these work reliably — and don’t rely on electronics. A person — a live one — goes to the dam, assesses the water level and makes an executive decision about how much water to release. When droughts get serious, they may complete close the dam. This is terrible for the trout and the turtles, not to mention the herons and swans but — like last year — it is very important when water is scarce.

Black & White
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Categories: #black-&-white-photography, #BlackstoneRiver, #CBWC, #DamsAndWaterfalls, #Photography, River

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9 replies

  1. Cee Neuner
    05/08/2023 • 13:56

    Wonderful photos for this week. Thanks 😀

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  2. Alli Templeton
    05/08/2023 • 04:15

    These shots are superb, Marilyn. I love the way you’ve caught the water so sharply, it’s as though time has frozen. 🙂 In many ways it’s good that you didn’t find any sprinklers to photograph, as it shows people are indeed being careful and responsible with their water usage. And your photos of spillways are so good you didn’t need sprinklers or fountains to perfectly capture the movement of water anyway. Great show. 🙂

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/08/2023 • 09:57

      We mostly use wells here, so however you get it into your house, if you use too much, not only you suffer, but so does everyone else. Last year’s drought was pretty scary. We got into not showering every day and using minimum water for everything. I hope the rain doesn’t end suddenly. It can, so I’m happy to live with a lot more rain than we need 😀

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      • Alli Templeton
        05/08/2023 • 14:09

        I remember last year when you were desperate for rain and your huge relief when it finally came. I think we could all do with adopting some of your water use minimising practices. 🙂

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  3. robertawrites235681907
    05/08/2023 • 00:42

    These are lovely pictures. I’m pleased to know people are still involved in your dam systems.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/08/2023 • 09:59

      They wanted to get rid of them, but there’s a lot of hazardous earth packing them and taking down the dams would release all of that into the river, undoing 100 years of trying to clean up the river. And, as it turns out, the dams are very useful in controlling the flow of the river. In periods of drought, it’s a big help.

      Liked by 1 person