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on ALCOA's property. ALCOA is also working on plans to prevent large chunks of ice from moving down this section of river. Early plans called for large cement barriers to be built in the town of
Louisville, but those plans have met some opposition from local residents. Other ideas have included repairing and/or rebuilding the downtown weir in Massena, but many problems have cropped up. The weir is privately owned (by a deed that gives ownership over that section of river down to the bedrock). The most recent idea, proposed by the Massena Electric Company, calls for a small one-turbine hydroelectric dam to be constructed about a half-mile downriver from the old weir.
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river bottom so that the chemicals could not be released. This plan failed due to the weir break in the village of
Massena and resulting ice flows. Before its breach, this weir had kept ice upriver longer, allowing it to melt. Since it was breached, larger pieces of ice now flow down this section of the river and have breached the river bottom cap. It has also caused major erosion of the shoreline along this section of the river, due to the ice gouging it out during the spring ice flows.
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453:, served as a water power source for several mills in the towns and hamlets along its course. Almost none of these mills has survived, but stone foundations, burned out furnaces, and other ancient structures can be located along its banks. Several Old World dams exist along the path of the Grasse River. Its so-called "twin" sister river, the
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In 2005, a company was hired by ALCOA to remove the chemicals from the riverbed near what is known as "Outfall One", one of the factory's water drainages just downriver from the powerhouse. The river bottom was removed and piped into machines where it was cleaned and deposited in a private landfill
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The river from the old powerhouse onwards is calm and level to its mouth in the St. Lawrence River. This section of the river is the only section that can be traversed by motor or power boats, but activity is light as Lake St. Lawrence is the draw for boating in the area (which is behind a pair of
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contaminate the last several miles of the Grasse, the most significant being located near the old powerhouse and at a drainage outlet on the river for the Alcoa plant located north. Alcoa has spent years cleaning this section of the river. In an early attempt at cleanup, the company "capped" the
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shipping locks and two dams if one were trying to travel from the Grasse to the lake). This was only possible during the construction of the old powerhouse, as the river was dredged to 15 feet (4.6 m) along its course to the St. Lawrence. At the mouth of the Grasse River is
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American merchant purchased 3.6 million acres (15,000 km²) from New York State at 12 cents an acre. This area was divided into counties and townships which were established between 1800 and 1815. The area thrived on thick pine forests, stone
572:, part of the St. Lawrence Seaway Shipping System. Several hundred yards upriver from the mouth of the Grasse is a docking area which contains a large floating crane with replacement doors for the locks, and the tugboat
564:(the village water supply is also drawn in through this wall). On the Grasse River end, the cement and brick structure of the old powerhouse remains, without any equipment inside the original buildings.
401:. Two main branches of streams and ponds, known as the Northern Branch and Southern Branch, lay claim as the ultimate source. The southern branch is the dominant flow of the river, feeding off
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The Grasse River defines the northern edge of
Massena's downtown district. At the southern end of the village, the Raquette River was the location of the
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and Health Spring. Located several yards east of the downtown bridge on the Grasse River is the second remaining major dam of the river, known as the
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passing through a series of small rapids or waterfalls, depending on the amount of water flowing. The river then flows into the township and
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and Little
Moosehead Pond, and is located near the hamlet of Degrasse. The weaker northern branch is fed from smaller ponds such as
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is located upriver from the park on the northern bank. From this point, the river flows northwards to the hamlet of
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Project. The St. Lawrence River end of the canal is blocked off by a massive wall, known as the
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The river continues to cut through the village of
Massena to the eastern borders, where the old
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flowing mostly north away from the
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The river is created by a series of small ponds, lakes and streams located in the
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The Grasse River makes its way through many small hamlets and two major towns,
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From Chase Mills, the river begins its northeasterly path into the town of
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Grass River
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This area of New York was first explored in the 1790s as part of the
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306:. The river mainly flows northeast from the foothills of the
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connects with the river. This canal was constructed by the
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The first of two major dams was built several yards west of
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The Grasse River, along with the other tributaries to the
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413:near the hamlet of Russell, and runs through the
368:Sinking of the Steamer Sirius on the Grasse River
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344:The Grasse River upstream of Massena, @ Hwy 56
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318:along with other tributaries such as the
314:, making up what is known as the greater
630:. U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from
682:Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River
677:Rivers of St. Lawrence County, New York
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580:Pollution and environmental degradation
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331:François Joseph Paul, comte de Grasse
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191:619 sq mi (1,600 km)
352:The Grasse River in Massena Center
294:) is a 73-mile-long (117 km)
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316:St. Lawrence River Drainage Basin
415:Grasse River Wild Forest Reserve
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16:River in New York, United States
495:. Just south of the dam is the
292:U.S. Board on Geographic Names
132: • coordinates
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376:Another of the Steamer Sirius
79:Physical characteristics
550:Pittsburgh Reduction Company
360:Dredging of the Grasse River
171: • elevation
120: • location
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672:Rivers of New York (state)
437:and the mining of various
329:The river was named after
290:(per 1905 decision of the
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92:Middle Branch Grass River
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489:New York State Route 345
335:Battle of the Chesapeake
247:North Branch Grass River
242: • right
183:73 mi (117 km)
97:South Branch Grass River
608:List of New York rivers
210: • left
175:171 ft (52 m)
509:Coles Creek State Park
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497:Madrid Municipal Park
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409:, Bullhead Pond and
308:Adirondack Mountains
558:St. Lawrence Seaway
546:Massena Power Canal
501:Madrid Country Club
312:St. Lawrence Valley
235:Massena Power Canal
196:Basin features
154:44.9868°N 74.7706°W
150: /
628:"The National Map"
531:Massena Health Spa
524:village of Massena
513:St. Lawrence River
451:St. Lawrence River
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113:St. Lawrence River
480:into the town of
430:Revolutionary-Era
422:Macomb's Purchase
387:northern New York
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125:Massena, New York
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636:. Retrieved
632:the original
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574:Robinson Bay
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535:Downtown Dam
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478:Bucks Bridge
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298:in northern
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284:Grasse River
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263:Nettle Creek
259:Little River
255:Edmond Brook
25:Grasse River
505:Chase Mills
424:, in which
320:Oswegatchie
288:Grass River
219:Plumb Brook
215:Black Brook
201:Tributaries
157: /
22:Grass River
666:Categories
614:References
570:Snell Lock
520:Louisville
407:Clear Pond
381:The source
273:Waterfalls
231:Line Creek
188:Basin size
145:74°46′14″W
142:44°59′12″N
389:towns of
310:into the
302:, in the
602:See also
455:Raquette
435:quarries
326:rivers.
324:Raquette
300:New York
73:New York
40:Location
638:Feb 11,
511:on the
462:Massena
399:Clifton
391:Russell
45:Country
482:Madrid
474:Morley
470:Canton
466:Canton
445:Course
204:
180:Length
88:Source
554:Alcoa
552:(now
507:near
395:Clare
296:river
108:Mouth
62:State
640:2011
539:weir
537:or "
476:and
464:and
439:ores
397:and
322:and
282:The
586:PCB
491:in
286:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
