Nepean Bay, is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. It is located between

Lemieux Island Lemieux Island (french: Île Lemieux) is a small island in the middle of the Ottawa River at the edge of Nepean Bay in the National Capital Region of Canada. The island lies between Gatineau, Quebec, and the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. Adm ...

and the

Prince of Wales Bridge A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

on the west and LeBreton Flats on the east.

History

In the early 20th Century, the bay was used for Ottawa's drinking water. In 1912, experts deemed the bay "no fit place under which to lay an intake pipe without great precautions", due to the intake pipe being in disrepair due to the number of logs in the bay from Ottawa's lumber industry. During a

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

epidemic at the time, tests taken from drinking water from the bay showed that it was contaminated with pollution. Plans to build a pipeline to carry treated water over the bay as a bridge was dismissed as a "wild undertaking". In 1938, following complaints of "nude bathing" at the bay, the city entertained the possibility of establishing a public beach at the site. The southern half of the bay (40 acres) was in-filled with garbage from excavation work on government projects between 1962 to 1965 by the

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...

. The new reclaimed land would be used for park and recreation purposes, and for the construction of the Ottawa River Parkway. The project, which began in 1961 also included a clean-up of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

tracks and roundhouse in the area. The total cost of the project was estimated at $17,500,000. Originally, the plan was to build a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

across the bay for the new parkway. The contract to build the parkway along the edge of Nepean Bay was awarded in 1964 to L.J. Corkery Ltd. for $371,969, and involved removing 100,000 cubic yards of sanitary fill from the bay, and replacing it with 300,000 tons of granular fill. This stretch of the parkway was completed in 1967. Other proposed plans for the site at the time included building a heliport and a garbage dump.

References

{{reflist Landforms of Ottawa Bays of Ontario Ottawa River