WASTE WATER WEIR
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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Historic Transportation Canals
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Industry & Commerce, Site, Transportation
- Empire State Trl, Mechanicville, NY 12118, USA
- 42.850981, -73.681866
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Town of Halfmoon
WASTE WATER WEIR
Inscription
WASTE WATER WEIRBUILT CA. 1871 TO REMOVE
EXCESS WATER FROM CHAMPLAIN
CANAL TO PREVENT FLOODING.
STONE ARCH CULVERT CARRIED
CREEK UNDER CANAL.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023
According to a History of the Canal System of the State of New York, a supplement to the 1906 Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor, canal commissioners first proposed a canal between Lake Champlain and the lower Hudson River in 1812. Work commenced on the canal in 1817 and was completed by 1823, with the canal officially in operation on September 10th of that year.
The 60-mile canal ran from Waterford to the town of Whitehall on Lake Champlain. It was constructed for use by commercial vessels transporting lumber, grain, apples, potatoes, butter, cheese, and merchandise between northern New York and western New England to urban centers, including New York City and Montreal.
Along the Champlain Canal, in the town of Halfmoon in Saratoga County, New York, a waste water weir and stone arch culvert were constructed around 1871. The stone arch culvert carried a creek under the canal and was first constructed when the canal was completed in 1823. However, the swell from a lock just above the culvert caused the eventual breakdown of the berm bank of this portion of the canal leading to repeated flooding of the surrounding land. Therefore, around 1871, the culvert was rebuilt with a waste water weir used to control the levels of water in this section of the canal and prevent flooding.
An approximately 35-mile southerly section of the Champlain Canal, from Waterford to Fort Edward, was abandoned upon the completion of a part of the New York State Barge Canal project in 1916, which saw the canalization of the Hudson River. As of 2023, the Champlain Canalway Trail, a 6-mile section of the Empire State Trail, runs along the towpath of the former Champlain Canal from Cohoes to the town of Halfmoon. Halfmoon’s waste water weir structure is still intact and visible from the trail.
