Hacienda Buena Vista - Description of The Hacienda - Canal and Aqueduct

Canal and Aqueduct

A main attraction of the Hacienda is the brick-and-mortar canal which is (18 in. deep by 12 in. wide) and runs some 2,600 feet (790 m). A water drop of 360 meters provides the energy needed to run the mills in the hacienda. Vives paid 360 Spanish pesos for the 58 acres (230,000 m2) that comprise the area of the Canas River to pride for his canal. The use of the River for the hacienda was authorized by the Spanish Colonial Government in Puerto Rico. The canal and aqueduct were finished in 1851. A series of manifolds are used for diverting the water according to the needs of the hacienda agricultural production: one gate diverts water to the water wheel and the corn mill water turbine, another gate diverts water to the fermentation tank, the ornamental washbasin, and the bath, and a third gate diverts water to a race which sends water back to the Canas River.

Read more about this topic:  Hacienda Buena Vista, Description of The Hacienda

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