When it opened in 1915, the Brooks Aqueduct was the longest structure of its kind in the world. Today, this concrete skeleton is a national and provincial historic site and an elegant testimonial to a marvel of engineering.
In 1912, the challenge for the Canadian Pacific Railway was to build an aqueduct that would span a 3.2-kilometre valley and carry water from man-made Lake Newell to the eastern lands of this irrigation district. The problem was complicated by the need to maximize the water flow without losing much elevation.
The engineering solution was to build a unique, dish-shaped concrete flume supported by more than 1,000 columns. In less than three years, a crew of 300 men had completed the aqueduct, using as much concrete as it would take to build some 630 house basements. It is now considered one of the 10 greatest engineering achievements in Alberta’s history.
The aqueduct brought agricultural fertility to some 55,000 hectares of farmland for 65 years. But, as the years passed, the badly deteriorating concrete structure could no longer keep up with the rising demand for water. In 1979, it was replaced by an earth-fill canal capable of carrying nearly 50 per cent more water.