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Satellite)
(Update:
HAER;
MWRD video of the interior;
MWRD video of one of the original units. They no longer run. What you are hearing is the modern units that are in back of the videographer.
MWRD's web site
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The powerhouse and
the original spillway and lock were built in 1906-07. The big lock was built 1922-33. [
HAER-data, p2]
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MWRD
[I remember from the 1970s when we could still visit the lock that the upstream gates goes up/down rather than swing on hinges. When I asked a guide when I took a tour of the powerhouse why that gate is different, he said that he had been told, but that he couldn't remember. I believe it has something to do with the lock being close to a powerhouse because Lock #19 on the Mississippi River, which is next to a powerhouse, also uses an up/down gate on the upstream side.] |
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MWRD
[What is the Public Relations budget of the MWRD? A drone, airplane, or helicopter?]
MWRD posted again
[They do make good use of this photo.] |
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MWRD posted
Excavation of the tail race for the MWRD's Lockport Powerhouse on October 25, 1905.
Between 1903 and 1907, the Sanitary District of Chicago (now MWRD) extended the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) and built the Lockport Powerhouse, lock and dam to generate hydroelectric power and to allow passage of watercraft between the Des Plaines River and the CSSC. |
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MWRD posted on Dec 7, 2022
Workers pause for a photo while casting concrete blocks for the Lockport Powerhouse walls on October 25, 1905. |
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MWRD posted
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse and excavation for the Lockport Lock and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal extension are seen in this busy construction photo from June 11, 1906. Between 1903 and 1907 the Sanitary District of Chicago (now MWRD) extended the CSSC and built the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock to generate hydroelectric power and to allow passage of watercraft between the Des Plaines River and the CSSC. Learn about the Lockport Powerhouse here:
https://mwrd.org/what-we-do/reducing-flooding/chicago-area-waterway-system-caws/lockport-powerhouse |
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MWRD posted
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse and Lock on April 6, 1907. |
What are they building here because the above post shows that the powerhouse is done.
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MWRD posted on Feb 3, 2022
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse, lock and dam on April 11, 1907. |
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MWRD posted
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse, Lock and Dam on April 11, 1907, looking south from the west wall of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the fender wall in the foreground and the powerhouse in the background. |
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MWRD posted on Dec 22, 2021
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse, lock and dam on April 11, 1907. |
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MWRD posted
A view to the north showing the Lockport Powerhouse, Dam and Lock on December 28, 1907. The powerhouse and dam are still in operation but the original lock was later replaced by a much larger lock, built by the state of Illinois and the federal government and opened in 1933, which provides the means for movement of larger vessels between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
MWRD posted |
Martin's comment:
The Lockport Powerhouse, downstream of the Controlling Works. Under construction in 1907 and as it looks today with obvious changes in machinery.
The east half of the powerhouse still has
the original 1907 alternators as preserved museum pieces.
The far two bays have had modern units installed. The other bays just use the pipes to help fine tune the flow of water through the canal. The foreground is the center of the powerhouse and generates the
excitation current for the modern units. (Scroll down in that excitation current posting for several more interior shots of this powerhouse. It also explains why they switched from the old to new alternators.)
This is an overview of the powerhouse and locks.
Google has several pictures of the complex. I found the one below on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District site.
Note the black gates of the original small lock between the sluiceway and the new lock. When I first came to the area to work at Bell Labs in the 1970s, I visited the lock. But access is no longer allowed. Another item on the todo list is to find and scan those photos.
Update:
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This is a view from the west side. The metal structure covers the bays that are used by the upgraded turbines and alternators.
View from the east side.
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MWRD posted
Mixing concrete for construction of the Lockport Powerhouse walls on October 25, 1905.
MWRD posted
MWRD posted on July 18, 2022
Workers mixing concrete to be used to cast blocks for the Lockport Powerhouse walls on October 25, 1905.
MWRD posted on Jan 23, 2023.
Workers mixing concrete to be used to cast blocks for the Lockport Powerhouse walls on October 25, 1905. Learn more here ⬇️⚡⚓
https://mwrd.org/lockport-powerhouse |
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MWRD posted on Nov 3, 2022
Construction of the Lockport Powerhouse on November 9, 1905. |
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MWRD posted on Nov 19, 2021
A view of the interior of the Lockport Powerhouse during construction on May 16, 1907, showing the installation of the original horizontal generators. A few of these generators remain in the Powerhouse today, though they are no longer functioning. The Powerhouse now generates electricity using more efficient and modern vertical generators. Located at the termination point of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lockport, the Powerhouse and adjacent lock and dam are used to maintain water levels, provide movement for commercial navigation between the CSSC and the Des Plaines River, and to generate electricity.
MWRD posted |
MWRD
posted nine photos with the comment: "
We were thrilled to have @idotdistrict1 Steve Mastny visit us today at the historic Lockport Powerhouse and Controlling Works! "
This was a total blast. Thanks very much Jennifer, Rebecca, and Marty for showing me around. Looking forward to doing it with the statewide group of Illinois bridge engineers in 2020.
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[This is the top of the two modern units that now generate all of the power.] |
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[They left three of the original units installed as museum pieces and to save the cost of removal.] |
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MWRD
posted three photos with the comment:
The interior of the Lockport Powerhouse is seen in these photos, the first from after construction was completed in 1907 and the second from January 14, 2020. Located at the termination point of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lockport, the Powerhouse is used to generate electricity, prevent flooding, reduce pollution and maintain water levels for commercial navigation.In the older photo, a worker is standing next to one of the original seven horizontal generators which were used to generate electricity. In 1935, two of the original horizontal generators were replaced by vertical generators and the remaining horizontal generators were eventually phased out. The 1935 vertical generators were replaced by more efficient vertical generators in 1999 and 2001. These generators each have a rated capacity of 6.5 megawatts and together generate an average of 40 million kilowatt-hours per year (110,000 kWh/day).Electricity generated at the Lockport Powerhouse was originally sold to municipalities for street lighting. In the 1930s the MWRD began using it to operate its treatment plants. Now the electricity is sold back to the “grid.” Also included is a 1914 print of the plans for the Power House Floor and Gallery.
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Dennis DeBruler commented on MWRD's post
I still haven't figured out how the blades were placed in those original horizontal turbines. It appears the flow of the water was into the side of the turbine and out from the center. This design was used before they invented thrust bearings that could handle the rotating weight of a vertical shaft with the alternator's rotor and the turbine.
Why wasn't a generator installed in the eighth bay of the building? |
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MWRD posted on Jan 3, 2022
Assembly of a vertical turbine and generator at the Lockport Powerhouse on March 18, 1935. Originally, seven horizontal generators were used to generate electricity, but in 1935, two of the horizontal generators were replaced by vertical generators and the remaining horizontal generators were eventually phased out. The 1935 vertical generators were replaced by more efficient vertical generators in 1999 and 2001. Located at the termination point of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lockport, the Powerhouse and adjacent lock and dam are used to maintain water levels, provide movement for commercial navigation between the CSSC and the Des Plaines River, and to generate electricity.
MWRD posted on May 4, 2023
MWRD posted |
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| MWRD posted on Mar 2, 2023 |
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MWRD posted
Interior view of two exciters at the Lockport Powerhouse on December 10, 1907. |
Kai Haas
posted five photos with the comment:
Some photos from the Lockport Powerhouse tour held by the MWRD last Saturday.
More photos on my Flickr as well.
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I was looking at the Library of Congress diagram showing the current set-up, but can't figure out how many of the 9 bays you see from the outside allow the passage of water. I think maybe it's 6 of the 9, but that's if you treat the two vertical generator bays as separate. It looks like two bays (Bay 6 & 8) are sealed off. I'm confused about what would be Bay 5 where the excitation chamber is.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think I read somewhere that when preparing for predicted excessive rainfall - the kind that causes backflows at the head of the system - that the discharged is first put through the two generator bays at the max level they can. They then add in the sluice gates at the Lockport Controlling Works further upstream. But what I found interesting is that at the powerhouse they don't open all the sluice gates bays! Apparently, they are afraid that if they used all the bays, simultaneously. They can't assure the structural integrity of the powerhouse.
I found that odd, as you'd think they'd have designed it for all scenarios, including emergencies. It makes you wonder how many backflows could be prevented if they had the ability at the powerhouse to draw down the system even more quickly.
Eh, found a USGS technical report from 2012 on this. It appears bays #1-4 and #7 contain active sluice gates. Bays #1 & 2 are at the far west of the powerhouse and contain the two active turbines and these each have a large sluice gate. Bays #3 & 4 have three sluice gates apiece, and Bay #7 has three. So there are 11 active sluice gates.
DeleteThat said, I'm still kind of confused about how the turbines worked, even when I've seen the side cut-away views.