Ontario Power Generation

DES JOACHIMS STATION

PLANT GROUP: Ottawa/St. Lawrence Plant Group
DRAINAGE BASIN: Ottawa River
RIVER: Ottawa

NEAREST POPULATION CENTRE: Deep River (21 KM (13 Miles) Southeast)

IN SERVICE DATES:

UNITS 1-2 - July 6, 1950
UNIT 3 - August 12, 1950
UNIT 4 - August 27, 1950
UNIT 5 - October 1, 1950
UNIT 6 - November 5, 1950
UNIT 7 - December 13, 1950
UNIT 8 - February 1951

BUILT BY: Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario
ASSET TRANSFERRED TO ONTARIO POWER GENERATION: April 1, 1999

NUMBER OF UNITS: 8
CONTROL: Remote from Chenaux GS

HISTORICAL NOTE:
Des Joachims derives its name from two brothers of the Joachims family who formerly owned great tracts of land in the district. On the Quebec side of the river, near the site of the job, was the once-flourishing lumbering village of Des Joachim's which still retains much of the flavour and atmosphere typical of French Canadian communities in the Ottawa Valley.

Des Joachims was officially opened on June 28, 1950 by Chairman, Robert H. Saunders and Ontario Premier Leslie Frost. Among the invited guests were Provincial Cabinet ministers and members of the two sister legislatures - Ontario and Quebec - mayors, township reeves and members of municipal councils, representatives of the press and a large number representing practically all categories of Hydro consumers in southern Ontario.

MISCELLANEOUS:
The Des Joachims plant is the largest of Ontario Power Generation's developments on the Ottawa River.

DURING CONSTRUCTION:
The Camp - There were three main camps which provided excellent accommodation for the personnel working on the project. An abandoned farm skirting Highway 17 was transformed into Camp 1. Camp 2, where 900 men from the Atlas Construction Company lived, was situated at Dam No. 3 on McConnell Lake. Camp 3 was perched high on the rocky bluffs of the Quebec side of the dam. The camps included modern and well equipped cafeterias which served the best of food in unlimited quantities. There were clean, comfortable living quarters with showers and laundries, recreation buildings, central heating systems and a hospital.

Recreational facilities took the form of hockey, skiing, baseball, horseshoes, badminton, bowling and dancing. Reading and writing rooms were provided as well as canteens and tuck shops.

The modern 30-bed hospital, designed by the Commission's Medical Director, was fully equipped to meet surgical and medical needs. The staff consisted of a resident physician, two graduate nurses, an x-ray technician, a first-aid man and an ambulance driver.