Chicoutimi river

The river Chicoutimi is a Quebec Rivière , tributary of the Saguenay and which takes its source in the lake Kénogami with 150 meters of altitude. Long 26,2 kilometers and having a basin of 3390 km ², this river provided most of fresh water of the district Chicoutimi and Jonquière as well as water necessary to the industrial complexes of the Alcan in the vicinity. The Chicoutimi river also want to be the river more urbanized and dammed up Saguenay-Lake-Saint-Jean. In all, six stoppings (of which 4 hydroelectric stations) regularize the flow of this river and provide electricity to Hydro-Quebec, Elkem Métal and Abitibi-Consolidated. One also finds there the Pulperie de Chicoutimi (today a museum) which used, when it state in operation, the water of the river like transport and mechanical energy source to manufacture wood pulp. This river and its basin were seriously touched by the Déluge of Saguenay in 1996.

Geography

The Chicoutimi river: lake Kénogami with the River Saguenay

Bearing-of-Rocks and the old village of Laterrière

The Chicoutimi river is born from the opening of the valves of the stopping Bearing-of-Rocks with 5 kilometers in the west of the old village of Laterrière (today Saguenay). This one rises directly from immense the tank Kénogami which takes its source of a basin of 3390 km ² in the Parc of Laurentides. Adopting the direction Is at the beginning, the river is skirted, on each banks, by the ways of the Bearing-of-Rocks North and South where one finds several main homes and secondary. This sector mountainous and covered with drills, typical of the solid mass of the laurentides, will be levelled little by little by approaching Laterrière. With 4,5 kilometers of its source, the river is divided into two for controurner an island on 500 meters and, at the same time, to take the direction of north. It is shortly after to have skirted the road 175 which it arrives at the center village of Laterrière where the bridge of the Father-Honorat (Street of the Boulevard) spans it. Passed this bridge, the toponymy of the two bordering roads and parallels which follow the river change for the Saint-Pierre way on western bank and the Saint-Paul way in the east.

Agriculture is done increasingly present as the river approaches the transition with the old town of Chicoutimi. While this one crosses the plains of the south of the city, one can observe many cultures and breedings established with the accesses of the river. From way, one passes to row Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul at the level of the road to Prosper who also marks the limit with the town of Chicoutimi. The river continues its court until the stopping of Falls-Garneau and the hydrant of the old town of Jonquière after the 17,5 kilometers traversed since the Bearing-of-Rocks. The distance between the two stoppings would represent the two-thirds overall length of the water court.

Industrial district of Chicoutimi

Passed the stopping of Falls-Garneau, the Chicoutimi river is crossed by the road 170 (Boulevard of the Kingdom) which marks its entry in the Industrial Park of Haut-Saguenay, where more than 125 companies which generate 3000 emploissont located. This section of the water court, a little before the bridge of the Autoroute 70 is bordered by the residences of the streets Belvédère and Saint-Pierre on western bank. It is at this place, shortly after a bulge of bank called the “Point of the Dog” and a basin strewn with small islands, that the Autoroute 70 overhangs the river and literally cuts the continuity of the parallel roads which skirt this one since its source. Thereafter are the streets Mitis and Laforge of the industrial park which take over on bank is and the way of the Reserve on western bank. Some major factories, of which that of the Alcan (parts of car in aluminum) and that of Élkem Metal (ferro - Silicon), take seat not far in the west from the river, in the kilometer which separates the Autoroute 70 from the stopping of Bridge-Arnaud.

The installations of Bridge-Arnaud begin with the hydrants from Alcan from the west coast and, just opposite, that of the water supply of the district Chicoutimi. Passing majoritarement by the crest gate of believed since the flood, the river follows its course not far from the old power station of Bridge-Arnaud and purification of Chicoutimi machines it and begins its loss of fast altitude after the stopping. This one continues its course in a wooded section and passes under the Bridge Ulderick Blackburn (Barette Boulevard) before being thrown in the reserve of the stopping of Falls-Blanchette.

Fall-Blanchette and the underground section of the river

Constituting a bulge of 11 Hectare S, the reserve of the stopping Falls-Blanchette is bordered by the residences of the street of the Channel and the Sieves in the south. The Chicoutimi river, retained by the stopping, is seen in major part channeled towards an underground control whose flow is managed by a hydrant. To the exit of the power station Elkem Metal, to have skirted shortly after by below the cemetery the Basin and the old Sainte-Marie mill, the river enters on the territory of the installations of old the Pulperie de Chicoutimi.

The stopping of Falls-Blanchette also want to be a weak discharge system of its basin. Since the Fifties, this parcour which borrowed the river, in the beginning, was drained mainly by the stopping Falls-Blanchette and circumvented to founir with the needs for the power station Elkem Métal.

The Pulperie de Chicoutimi and the District of the Basin

Emerging inside the site patrimonial of the Pulperie de Chicoutimi, the Chicoutimi river sails round, in the east, the Électrique island and the Saint-Joseph mill before passing under the bridge of the street Dubuc. It is there that it emerges in the reserve of the Chicoutimi stopping of the company Abitibi-Price. Skirted by the streets Dréan and Ross with the west as by the street Worked in the east, this section of the river, which penait the shape of torrent before the construction of the stopping, was known under the name of the rapids of the Saint-Angels. It is at this place, which is only with some tens of mêtre of the Sacré-Coeur church of the Basin and of notable white Small house désormait, that the iron bridge of the Canadian National, today cycle track, crosses the river.

In the last hundreds measures, following the Chicoutimi stopping, before last bridge, that of the street Price spans the river, which becomes an affected basin by marrée of the Rivière Saguenay. Skirted finally by a cycle track, the river finishes its race in the Rivière Saguenay after the bridge of the boulevard Saguenay (road 372).

Relief

Sliding ring of the south towards north, the Chicoutimi river takes its source in the east of the lake Kénogami by the stopping Bearing-of-Rocks in the old town of Laterrière (today district Chicoutimi with Saguenay). This water court has been controlled artificially on 26,2 kilometers of distance and 150 meters of unevenness for one century.

The first section, delimited by the stoppings of Bearing-of-Rocks and Bridge-Arnaud, would represent a part in Amont of the river a length of almost 20 kilometers. Located in the plain of Laterrière, in the south of Chicoutimi, this section would comprise a unevenness of hardly 17,3 m

General description

The catchment area of the Chicoutimi river, of a surface of 3.390 km ², holds, with those which are close for him, the Québécois record of precipitations on its territory (surroundings 1,2 measure water per year). Located mainly in the mountainous region (40% of its surface is with more than 650 meters of altitude |}

Environment

Fauna

Flora

Pollution

History

The station of draft

The first permanent European installations in the area of the Saguenay were built with the junction of the Chicoutimi river and the Saguenay. Built in 1676 on the vestiges of an Amerindian camping prehistoric, the station of draft of Chicoutimi, which included/understood a commercial warehouse and a vault, known its apogee at the end of the XVIIème century. This one fermis its doors in 1856.)

The industry of pulp

Mills

In 1847, Peter McLoed (wire), founder of the town of Chicoutimi, built its second mill in the district of the Basin, with the accesses of the Chicoutimi river. With died of this last, William Price, her only associate, takes possession of all the mill of the area in the name of the William Price and Company and bequeaths the whole to its sons which found the Price Brothers and Company which will become Abitibi-Price (now Abitibi-Consolidated, then AbitibiBowater).

Hydroelectric Installations

By its unevenness jerked, its important current and its immense source of water, the Chicoutimi river became, with arrived of industries, a place of choice to establish electrical installations there. With the wire of time, several stoppings one regularized the discharge of river and today this one, mainly, is controlled artificially.

In all, 4 hydroelectric stations are located on the Chicoutimi river. Those of Bridge-Arnaud and Falls-Garneau, misent in service in 1912 and 1925, are not active any more today. The power station Chicoutimi and Elkem Metal, misent in service in 1923 and 1957, are always used.

Powerplants

The Flood of Saguenay

The flood

Between the 19 and the July 20th 1996, the catchment area of the lake Kénogami received 245 mm of rain (what is equivalent to surroundings liver and half the lake with full capacity). The quantity of water retained by the stopping Bearing-Of-Rocks (which retains usually 380 million cubic meters of water), with Laterrière, becomes dangerously high and forces Hydro-Quebec to open complete the valves of the stopping (more than 1200 m ³ /seconde are poured for a maximum capacity of 1820 m ³ /seconde) to prevent that it does not yield. To this moment, the discharge of river Chicoutimi suddenly passes from 100 m ³ /seconde 1200 m ³ /seconde. The enormous water discharge modifies the bed of the river and several dwellings (in particular in the St-Pierre row) are found completely surrounded by this immense raw which carries several dwellings by uprooting them completely their foundations. Remains of these houses viennet for the majority to run up against the bridge of the way Bearing-Of-Rocks of Laterrière which was likely to yield under the pressure of the remains carried by the current.

Downstream on the river, the July 20th about midday, the enormous mass of water crosses the stopping of Falls-Garneau (max. capacity of 540 m ³ /seconde) and circumvents it by digging a 18 depth meters distinct. It is the same for Bridge-Arnaud, some moments later, (max. capacity of 710 m ³ /seconde) where distinct of 12 meters is dug. The drinking water catch of the town of Chicoutimi is uprooted and the municipality will install a pump in the vicinity to ensure the service.

The stopping of Falls-Blanchette manages to resist raw by opening its valves to the maximum (1080 m ³ /sec) which let pass water in the crest gate close to Pulperie. The water mass borrows the crest gate and the power station of Elkem and is found, at its exit, the access of the regional museum. The rising exceeds water the capacity of the crest gate and this one cuts through a path through two of the old mills of Pulperie. The installations of the theater of summer are completely submerged by the current which leaves by the window the old completely devastated mill. At this time, water is only with less than one kilometer of the Rivière Saguenay.

Arrived in full Downtown area, in the district of the Basin, the rising circumvents the last stopping violently (Chicoutimi Stopping, 720 m ³ /seconde) and breaks out on the district of the Basin. Completely flooded in part of the district and uprooted with the accesses of the stopping, the residences underwent heavy losses in this sector.

However, in spite of the important material losses at the time of the overflow of the Chicoutimi river, it there have no human loss in this sector. However, surroundings 6000 residents were evacuated at the time of raw of 1996 (4000 with Chicoutimi and 2000 with Laterrière). The Chicoutimi river was the second water court more touched after the River-with-March of the Bay at the time of the flood.

The damage and the rebuilding

Modification of the layout of the river.
10 houses destroyed with Laterrière
14 houses destroyed with Chicoutimi
Of the damage with 263 residences for an important total of 5.420.000 $
Of the damage with Falls-Garneau
the compensation for the damages with Bridge-Arnaud cost 20 million dollars
the compensation for the damages of the hydrant of Alcan rose to 6 million dollars and the repair of the railway lines of the company cost 20 million dollars.
important Damage with the Pulperie de Chicoutimi

Bordering occupation

Installations

Residential installations

Demography

Industrial installations

Agricultural installations

Extraction of water

Drinking water of the district Chicoutimi
Drinking water of the district Jonquière
Hydrant Alcan

Transport

Bridges

Bridge of the Boulevard Saguenay
Bridge of iron the street Price
Bridge of the Canadian National (Today cycle track)
Bridge of the street Dubuc
Bridge Ulderick Blackburn (Barette Boulevard)
Railroad Alcan
Bridge-Arnaud
Bridge of the Highway 70
Bridge of the Boulevard of the Western Kingdom
Bridge of the Father-Honorat
Bearing-Of-Rocks

Tourism and attractions

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