Hamilton has another 49 exhibits in its case for being called the City of Waterfalls.

A third formal survey of the city's cascades has boosted the official count to 145, up from the 96 identified in 2007, and the 65 in 2005.

The results are compiled in the third edition of Waterfalls & Cascades of Hamilton: Research and Inventory Report, published by the Hamilton Conservation Authority.

Jaime Tellier, an authority planner who authored the latest report, said publicity around the previous surveys prompted people with waterfalls on their properties to report that their falls were omitted.

But a seven-member project advisory team also studied maps in Hamilton for V-notches along the Niagara Escarpment to discover flows that had been overlooked, she said.

Seventy-five of the waterfalls are considered accessible to the public, 20 of them easily so; but 70 are deemed inaccessible, either because they are on private property not crossed by the Bruce Trail or are too dangerous to reach.

"Hopefully we've found most of them," Tellier said, noting there are no plans for another survey. "As the project has moved on, we've found (fewer and fewer) waterfalls and smaller and smaller waterfalls," she said.

"We still have a list of some that were found afterwards, but not necessarily meeting the definition required to be included in the inventory report."

To qualify, a waterfall must meet nine criteria, including a minimum vertical descent of three metres and crest width of one metre.

Waterfalls must also flow from a defined channel, ravine, ditch, swale, creek, stream, river, rock fissure or storm sewer, and they must at least flow during peak storm events.

Authority director Dan Bowman said the new discoveries should enhance Hamilton as a tourist destination. He said he was in Petrolia, near Sarnia, this past summer and met some people who told him they regularly visit Hamilton to view its waterfalls.

"It's pretty impressive that people are travelling that distance, two-and-a-half, three hours, to come here," Bowman said. "I think the work that's gone into this will eventually become even a bit of a resource for people that want to see more and more."

According to the report, Flamborough boasts the most waterfalls at 47, followed by Hamilton at 41, Stoney Creek at 31 and Ancaster at 20.

The biggest number, 43, are in the Spencer Creek watershed — including the two highest and widest, Tews and Webster's — but the Chedoke Creek watershed has the highest density at 22, with 18 bordering the Chedoke golf course.

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The report ranks the waterfalls on their accessibility, magnitude and visitor appeal, with 17 scoring an A, including Tews, Webster's, Albion, Devil's Punchbowl, Tiffany and Chedoke. Thirty-four scored a B and 94 a C.

The authority only plans to print 20 copies of the 65-page report, but will make it available online and for viewing at its Woodend headquarters in Ancaster.