Brooks Aqueduct

Brooks Aqueduct
Type aqueduct
Location Brooks, Alberta, Canada
Nearest city County of Newell
Built 1912–1914
Governing body Parks Canada
Website Brooks Aqueduct

The Brooks Aqueduct is a defunct aqueduct originally built by the irrigation division of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company during the 1910s. It was intended to irrigate a section of southeastern Alberta. The aqueduct stands approximately 8 kilometres south of Brooks, Alberta, Canada. The main section of the aqueduct spans a 3.2 km valley at an average elevation of 20 metres. The structure is a National Historic Site, and there is an interpretive centre for tourists.[1]

History

The aqueduct was built of reinforced concrete,[2] and was completed in 1914. At that time it was the largest concrete structure in existence.[3][4]

The aqueduct was used for irrigation for about 30 years. Its original capacity was 900 cubic feet per second (25 m3/s).[5] and the 113,000 hectares of land which were provided with water led to a new wave of settlement.[6] Water to feed the aqueduct was provided by the Bassano Dam, built as part of the same project on the Bow River.[7]

The aqueduct was refurbished in 1934.[3]

In 1969, the Alberta and Canadian governments assumed the responsibility of maintaining the structure under the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration. Although it was thought at first that the governments would rebuild the aqueduct, which had been deteriorating for years, it was ultimately shut down and was left as it was.

Legacy

Today it still stands, although the structure itself is no longer structurally sound and has been fenced off since the 1970s. The aqueduct and the immediate area surrounding it is now a National Historic Site of Canada.[1]

Brooks Aqueduct Historic Site Plaque

References

  1. 1 2 Jayne Seagrave (30 April 2015). Camping with Kids in the West: BC and Alberta's Best Family Campgrounds. Heritage House. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-77203-041-9.
  2. ↑ Engineering News. 77. G.H. Frost. 1917. p. 469.
  3. 1 2 Ron Brown (30 June 2012). Rails Across the Prairies: The Railway Heritage of Canada's Prairie Provinces. Dundurn. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4597-0216-5.
  4. ↑ The Interpreter. Western Interpreters Association. 1979. pp. 19–20.
  5. ↑ Engineering Works of Calgary. 1915. p. 16.
  6. ↑ Ron Brown (8 August 2015). Dundurn Railroad 5-Book Bundle: In Search of the Grand Trunk / Rails Across the Prairies / Rails Across Ontario / The Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore / Rails to the Atlantic. Dundurn. p. 699. ISBN 978-1-4597-3303-9.
  7. ↑ Ted Stone (1996). Alberta History Along the Highway: A Traveler's Guide to the Fascinating Facts, Intriguing Incidents and Lively Legends in Alberta's Past. Red Deer College Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-88995-133-4.

Sources

Coordinates: 50°31′44″N 111°51′18″W / 50.5289°N 111.8550°W / 50.5289; -111.8550

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