Southeast of Rochester, the canal follows the side of the Irondequoit Valley for about a mile. Here the canal is in a cement channel with a 70 foot high earthen bank built above the valley. There are flood control gates which can be dropped in case the bank flooded or was broken. Otherwise part of Lake Erie might have gone through people's yards on the way to Lake Ontario instead of down Niagara Falls. There are several gates along this part and the eastern part of the Erie Barge Canal.