“Rapide-Blanc” (English: White Rapid) was deemed to be the most dangerous rapids of
Saint-Maurice River. The
Atikamekw preferred to use a series of 11
portages from
Coucoucache to the mouth of the
Vermillon River (La Tuque), upstream of
La Trenche Generating Station, through the Coucoucache Creek. This hydroelectric dam was built on the site of the former "Rapide Blanc" whose designation goes back to at at least the mid-nineteenth century. After the construction of the dam, only one of the old rapids remains (downstream of the dam), designated in French "Rapides de la Tête du Rapide Blanc" (Rapids of the Head of White Rapids). The name "Rapide-Blanc" (White Rapid) was also given to the rail stop located 12 km south of the village. In 1928, the
SWPC acquired water rights on six of the seven sites that could be developed for power generation on the upper
Saint-Maurice River, upstream of
Grand-Mère. The company signed a long-term lease for using and developing the site during 75 years, to ensure it would retain the exclusivity of hydroelectric development on the whole basin. Under agreements with the
Government of Quebec, the site of Rapide-Blanc, located north of
La Tuque was the first site due to be developed. However, the
Great Depression of the 1930s forced the SWPC to revise its forecast of the growth of electricity demand downwards. Under its agreement with the Government of Quebec, the SWPC had pledged to start construction of a facility with a minimum power rating of by 1930, for a planned commissioning in 1933. The construction of a second unit was to follow in 1938. However, in light of the economic downturn and of the reduction in the revenue of the SWPC between 1930 and mid-1932, the company requested some changes to the lease, including its extension from 75 to 95 years. The Government agreed to change the terms, which delayed subsequent work. Notwithstanding this, the SWPC nevertheless honoured the terms of the first agreement: the construction of
gravity dams of started in 1930, as provided in the agreement signed two years before. The project was relatively complex for the time, and in particular required the movement of a 50 km (31 mi) section of the
railway of
Canadian National, which passed through the land due to be flooded by the
reservoir of the plant. Another consequence was the displacement of
Indian Reserve of
Coucoucache whose lands were flooded by the
Reservoir Blanc. A new reserve of was assigned by the Government of Quebec on 16 January 1932 replacing the old unit of . Shawinigan reimbursed 380 U.S. dollars to the Canadian government on 1 January 1937 for the loss of the previous reserve. A fifth turbine generator was added to the Rapide-Blank facility in 1943. The war also forced the SWPC to question the safety of its installed works in Haute-Mauricie. The company established a
messenger pigeon service, responsible for rapidly communicating information relating to the most remote dams in the event of air attack or sabotage of facilities and of the means of communication. The
Shawinigan Journal, the internal newspaper of the SWPC, revealed in its November 1945 edition that company executives feared that a collapse of the
Gouin dam could cause the destruction of downstream plants used to support the war effort. As a result, from March 1942, dovecotes were set up Rapide-Blanc and
Gouin. The best pigeons of the SWPC could make the trip between the two sites - apart as the crow flies - in 75 minutes, which represents an average speed of . Despite opposition from
Hydro-Québec engineers, the SWPC was ultimately given permission to partially divert the course of the
Mégiscane River to increase the flow of the
Saint-Maurice River in September 1951, just days after
Hydro-Québec was granted permission to build two large dams,
Bersimis-1 and
Bersimis-2, on the Betsiamites River. In parallel with this diversion, a sixth turbine generator was installed at each of
La Tuque,
La Trenche and the Rapide-Blanc. The decision to proceed with the works was taken in February 1953, and the new units were commissioned in 1955. The cost of these works, which added to the peak power of the three plants, totaled C$14 million.
The Village of Rapide-Blanc From the 1930s, the SWPC built a village to house the workers responsible for the operation of the plant, as well as their families. A series of red brick houses were erected on the east bank of the river near the dam. The total population of the village has never exceeded 65 families. The village also had an inn of 13 rooms, an
Elementary School which offered instruction in French and English, two
churches (Catholic and Protestant), a
General Store, a
filtration plant and a
medical clinic. Recreation facilities allowed for the practice of
curling,
ice hockey and
skiing in winter, and
tennis and
softball in the summer. Before the construction of the La Trenche Generating Station, opened in 1950, the site was difficult to access, since workers were cut off from the road leading to La Tuque and to the rest of Quebec. Only 7 houses remain. Two of these are used by Hydro-Québec to hold meetings. The other five are available to Hydro-Québec employees, who can use them for holidays. The place is renowned for the quality of its
fishing. The operation of the plant was automated by using a microwave network from the summer of 1971 and the plant is controlled from a station located in the downtown area of
La Tuque. As of the early twenty-first century, there are only seven small houses that have been renovated and preserved. Since automation, hydro development is visited weekly by a team of a dozen workers responsible for maintenance of the plant and the three auxiliary dams in Manowan. In 2006, the downtime of 0.86% was the lowest in the Cascades sector of Hydro-Québec. Nevertheless, the system, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009, requires some attention; work was carried out on a valve spillway in summer 2006. The
power station installed on the roof of the plant was upgraded in 2007 to accommodate a new transmission line built at a cost of
CA$104.5 million dollars. long and consisting of guyed towers, a line 230 kV delivers electricity to new
Chute-Allard and
Rapides-des-Coeurs, upstream, to the position of beeches in
Shawinigan and the consumer markets of southern Quebec. Rapide-Blanc, an existing line goes south and shares a grip with the other lines which leave the other plants in the Haute-Mauricie and 450 kilovolt line to
DC linking
Radisson, near the central of
James Bay to
Nicolet on the south side of
Saint Lawrence River, and thence to
New England. == See also ==