In 1969, The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was tasked with the dewatering of the American Falls. The $1.5 million project’s purpose was to discover ways to prevent future erosion and determine the feasibility of removing some of the talus from the base of the American Falls. The talus at the base of the American Falls was estimated at 358,000 tons with the talus as high as 135 feet (41M) in places, reducing the water fall from 100 feet (30m) to a mere 45 feet (13.7M). The depth of the talus was from 25 feet (7.6m) to 50 feet (15m).In order to accomplish this, a 600 foot (183m) cofferdam from the mainland to the head of Goat Island was built in order to divert the water to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls from the American channel. On June 12, after 3 days and 1,264 truck loads of fill (consisting of 27,800 tons of rock and earth) the dam was in place and holding back the eight (8) foot (2.4m) deep water of the Niagara River. The dry American Falls and the higher volume of water over the Horseshoe Falls was a big tourist magnet. On November 25, 1969, the dam was removed and the flow of water over the American Falls resumed to normal.The International Joint Commission decided that it was possible to remove the talus at the base of the American Falls, but not desirable, and the American Falls should not be stabilized artificially to prevent further rock slides that add to the talus.