There used to be a wild art installation that dumped water off the High Level Bridge, and we would love to see it make a comeback.

The “Great Divide Waterfall” was an installation that is precisely what the title sounds like. Over 50,000 litres of water would pour off the upper deck of the bridge, cascading into the North Saskatchewan River on summer holidays.

stuckinthecity/Flickr

The City of Edmonton turned the waterfall on for the first time on September 1, 1980, to commemorate Alberta’s 75th anniversary.

There were previous ideas to turn the High Level Bridge into a commemorative piece; in 1967, the City considered painting the bridge gold in honour of Canada’s centennial.

We’re kind of glad they chose not to do that, to be honest.

The falls lasted in the city until 2009 when the city stopped running the waterfall over concerns the chlorinated water could be affecting the river below.

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In 2012, Edmonton city councillors looked into upgrading the falls to match environmental standards, but the equipment needed to de-chlorinate the water was deemed too pricey.

Another art display that we are all very familiar with was installed on the bridge in 2013. A campaign called “Light the Bridge” was launched, resulting in 60,000 LED lights installed along the bridge.

The debate to bring the waterfall back was again brought up in 2014; however, city council voted to shut the falls down for good.

So, while it may be just a moment in our history, we would love to revisit that debate over whether or not the falls should come back. What do you think?