The Ice Boom

The Ice Boom. . , On display is a 30-foot long section of the Ice Boom. Each winter, The Ice Boom is installed to minimize ice flow into hydropower intakes in the Niagara River. Thus, it substantially reduces losses in power generation in all but the most severe storms., The Ice Boom is 1.7 miles long from the Buffalo waterfront all the way to the Canadian shore, located about two miles upstream from the Peace Bridge in downtown Buffalo., Use of the Ice Boom began in 1964, led by the International Joint Commission made up of the New York Power Authority and Ontario Hydro. From 1964 to 1999, the Ice Boom consisted of 22 sections or spans made of 286 wooden logs. Each log weighed 1.5 tons and was 30 feet long, 16 inches high and 22 inches wide., Starting in 2000, the logs were replaced by steel cylinders, each 30 feet long, 30 inches in diameter, and capped at each end. There are 10 to 11 cylinders in each of the boom’s 22 spans., During December and January, the Ice Boom promotes early formation of an ice arch, which in turn promotes the formation of a uniform ice cover west of the boom, thereby reducing the flow of ice into the Niagara River.