ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nearly 76,000 gallons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second. What would it take to stop that flow temporarily?

Some of you may remember 1969, when the U.S. Army stopped the flow of water over Niagara Falls so crews could work on the bedrock underneath. There’s been talk of that happening again to repair bridges.

In this month’s edition of Mary Jane’s Farm Magazine, Carol saw a paragraph titled “Niagara Falls to Run Dry.” The magazine claims “engineers will have to stop the flow of American Falls in New York State” in order to repair bridges. It happened once before – 55 years ago. Carol asks, “When will this happen?”

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation says stopping the flow is “no longer an option” for bridge repairs at the falls.

Built in 1901, the American Rapids Bridges connect the mainland to Goat Island and they need to be replaced. The Parks Department says stopping the flow was just one of several options to come out of a study done in 2016.

Despite catching the public’s attention, the idea was scrapped because of the time it would have taken, and the impact it would have had on tourism and the environment.

So to answer Carol’s question, plans to stop the flow over Niagara Falls are off. The Parks Department is exploring other options for how to repair the bridges. One of those options may be building local coffer dams to stop the flow only around specific sections of the bridge while work is underway.

If you have a question you’d like answered, send me an email at goodquestion@whec.com.

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