Brooks Aqueduct

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

The Brooks Aqueduct is a defunct aqueduct originally built by the irrigation division of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company during the 1910s. The aqueduct stands approximately 8 kilometres south of Brooks, Alberta, Canada.

Overview

The main section of the aqueduct spans a 3.2 km valley at an average elevation of 20 metres. The intention of the aqueduct was to irrigate a section of southeastern Alberta and proved to do so for about 30 years. Its original capacity was 900 cubic foot of water per second. 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.

The aqueduct was one of the largest irrigation projects of its time in southern Alberta and even today, continues to serve the area with the Bassano Dam, which was a key component of the project.

Brooks Aqueduct Historic Site Plaque

External links

• Brooks Aqueduct page
• Parks Canada page on the Brooks Aqueduct
• Alberta government page on the Brooks Aqueduct

Sources

• https://web.archive.org/web/20090430101714/http://www.eidnet.org:80/local/aqueduct/index.htm
• https://web.archive.org/web/20090429142201/http://www.eidnet.org:80/local/aqueduct/stats.htm
• https://web.archive.org/web/20090430101658/http://www.eidnet.org:80/local/aqueduct/fateba.htm
• http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0011268