No more tourism
One of the problems with the draining of the Falls was the affect on the local area. The surrounding towns relied, as they do now, heavily on the tourism trade that the Falls brought. With the water drained, and the spectacle on hold, the expectation was of fewer crowds, and less money spent.
Thankfully, they were proved wrong, with a steady stream of visitors arriving to peer on the uncovered river bed of the great waterfall. This was something no-one had seen before, which makes a pretty good tourist attraction, as you’d imagine.