LTE: Water slide for Cornwall?

An ancient technology could provide a basis for a summer-time water slide at Cornwall, near the new causeway where water flows from the old Cornwall Canal to the St. Lawrence River. Though the drop through which the water flows may be small, the ancient technology could actually use the flow of water through the channel to pump a small quantity of water uphill to about 20-times the elevation of the drop. It is possible that a modern version of the ancient could pump water to storage tanks placed atop remaining piers of the old high-level bridge, should Federal Bridge Corporation and City of Cornwall be interested in discussing such a concept, to provide a high-elevation source of water to operate a water-slide.

The water-powered water pump traces back over 1,000 years ago when the engineers of the Mayan empire devised a method by which to use the energy of water flowing downstream in a river, to pump a small percentage of water uphill through a tunnel and into a reservoir located inside hills where Mayans built their villages. If an enemy held a Mayan community siege, they had a steady and reliable supply of fresh water and relied on their reserves of dehydrated food. The overflow from their water supply was released into a tunnel that connected to a spring located at lower elevation, where the enemy army had set up camp…and the Mayans diverted sewage into the enemy army’s source of water.

The water slides at the water parks at Wakefield, Que. (north of Ottawa) and at Limoges, Ont. (Calypso Water Park) attract many visitors. During summer, many tourists travel along Highway 401 between Montreal and Toronto…and a high-level water slide and possible water park at Cornwall could attract visitors. The overhead water tanks could provide a source of fast flowing water to operate standing waves on which visitors could ride surf boards (its also possible to produce standing waves along a section of the St Lawrence River along Cornwall’s water front, west of the Civic Complex, to allow for water surfing).

Harry Valentine
Cornwall