In June of 1956, water seeping into a back wall caused the collapse of two­thirds of the Schoellkopf Power Station. The United States needed a new power station. Construction of the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station, named for New York City planner Robert Moses, began on March 18, 1957 in Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. The power station, owned and operated by the New York State Power Authority, was opened in January 28th 1961.When it opened in 1961, it was the Western world's largest hydro­ electric power station. Water for this power plant is drawn from the Niagara River 2.5 miles above the Falls along the American shoreline. Six hundred thousand (600,000) gallons of water per second is drawn through two ­ 700 foot (213m) long intakes located below water level. Twin buried conduits, or tunnels, 46 feet (14m) wide and 66 feet (20m) high lead from the intake and run 4 miles (6 kms) to the forebay. From the forebay water enters the turbines through 460 foot (140m) long penstocks which are 28.5 feet (8m) in diameter. After passing through the turbines, water is discharged directly back into the Niagara River. There are thirteen turbines with 200,000 horsepower each. A 1,900 acre water reservoir is utilized to feed the turbines during the daytime and holds 22 billion gallons of water. The capacity of the power plant is 2,300 megawatts.