In 1818 a canal, which was dug to drain spring flood waters from Lake Suvanto (now Lake Sukhodolskoye, a 40-km long narrow lake in the eastern part of the Isthmus) into Lake Ladoga, unexpectedly eroded and turned into the Taipaleenjoki (now Burnaya River). The Taipaleenjoki started draining Suvanto and decreased its level by 7 m. Originally waters of Lake Suvanto flowed into the Vuoksi River through a waterway at Kiviniemi (now Losevo), but as a result of the change, the waterway dried out. In 1857 the canal was dug there, but the stream reversed direction, revealed rapids and rendered navigation at Kiviniemi impossible. Since 1857 Suvanto and the Taipaleenjoki have constituted the southern armlet of the Vuoksi River, which has decreased the level of the original northern armlet emptying into Ladoga near Kexholm (now Priozersk) by 4 m, isolating it as a separate river basin.