Brooks Aqueduct

It’s a marvel of engineering, a multi-kilometre long concrete structure a century old. Towering over the lone prairie it once brought life giving water to this parched region of Alberta, but today is unused. It was replaced – everything and everybody has that fate eventually – but stands as a monument to the challenges facing those who live farm in the area. Water meant survival then and it’s no different today. We’re talking about the Brooks Aqueduct, just outside Brooks Alberta (who’d have thunk) and we’re inviting you to come along with us and take a tour.

The Aqueduct was part of the Eastern Irrigation District system. Think of it as a bridge for water taking it over a low lying section of land and at each end it would reconnect with the earthen canal. When built it was just over three kilometres long but is a bit shorter today with a centre section having been removed a few decades ago so a road could be punched though. This gap, however, affords a good cutaway view of how it was constructed especially from that road which is elevated to pass over the newer canal.

Constructed between the years 1912-1914 it took some 19000 cubic metres of cast concrete and 1800 tonnes of reinforcing steel to complete. This was cutting edge tech for the day and at the time of of its completion was the largest or one of the largest concrete structures (depending on the source) on the entire planet. Either way, it’s unarguably massive and no less a wonder today then it was back when built. People stop and look in awe. Old photos taken while it was under construction show many men and horse teams working there.

The piers, over five hundred cross-braced pairs in total and of varying height depending on the lay of the land, support an underslung round bottom trough or flume designed with a smooth flow in mind. The grade is modest, perhaps a couple percent or so at the most (only hinted at) and the flow would have been some twenty five cubic metres per second. Joints made of corrugated metal, placed every so often allowed for expansion, for without, the structure would have soon torn it self apart on account of temperature changes. Smart guys those engineers. Water only flowed during the growing season with the system being empty at other times.

Originally built and owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway it was acquired by the “EID” in the mid-’30s. Prior, the region was rather sparsely populated due to dry conditions but afterwards settlers flocked to Brooks and surrounding towns, some newly incorporated, with many farms being established nearby. Many of these are still here today and continue to use the water brought in. In total the canal provides irrigation to some hundred and ten thousand plus hectares of land, or the size of a fair city (Vancouver is close).

An interesting feature of the Aqueduct is the syphon taking water down and under the CPR tracks and then back up again. It’s simply a large pipe that even with that dip allows the water to flow unassisted – the downstream end need only be slightly lower for it to all work. Amazing really. The current canal, just to the east of the Brooks Aqueduct, has a similar syphon going under the tracks. You can see the outflow end in one photo. Old pictures found while researching this piece show people frolicking in the Aqueduct – hopefully on the down side of the syphon.

The Aqueduct required yearly maintenance in the off season with vegetation and debris being removed and a general inspection following. The structure was rehabilitated a number of times over the years. A particular problem was cement spalling (flaking off). The materials and techniques used back then were not anywhere near as good as today and freeze and thaw cycles in particular could readily damage it. Even today one can see where patches were made.

The structure was used up until the 1979 season. By this point it was beyond repair economically, however, with a new elevated canal being built right beside and replacing it. This berm affords one a nice elevated look at the old Aqueduct. Deemed too expensive to raze, the structure was kept in place and fenced off. You don’t want people climbing all over it after all. Or chunks falling on someone’s head.

The canal, incidentally, is fed from the Bow River near the town of Bassano (west), via Lake Newell, a reservoir (south). It then continues north for a fair distance. If you look on Google Earth you can see the many circular irrigated fields, all bright green, fed by the system. Land not irrigated is unproductive for crop production and generally used for pasture.

The Brooks Aqueduct is historically recognized, since around 2000. There’s plaques and a kiosk on site. In the past we understand there used to be human interpreters stationed here.

The CPR’s mainline splits the Aqueduct at the syphon with many trains passing each day. We saw three in an hour or so. You have a nice view of the tracks from the new canal. Just don’t fall in the water! Trains? Historical stuff as a backdrop? Win-win in our book. The railway, by the way, came through here in the 1880s. Brooks, a town of some fifteen thousand, can be seen off there in west a few clicks away. When the Aqueduct was built it was home to a few hundred people.

That “aroma” on the air is a huge cattle processing plant not far away. In the 1990s your author hauled pipe into the plant and the sheer size of it, and the stink, was incredible.

From the area…
Scandia Eastern Irrigation District Museum.
Fossil Prospecting @ Dino Provincial Park.
Shoulder Season @ Dino Provincial Park.
Industrial Works Dragline.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: June, 2018.
Location: Just outside Brooks Alberta.
Article references and thanks: Eastern Irrigation District – Aqueduct.Eidnet.ca, HistoricPlaces.ca.

All shots were taken from public property.

At the Brooks Aqueduct, Brooks Alberta.

It was in use for over 60 years – water exited into a canal here.

What replaced the Aqueduct.

It extends for many kilometres.

Built 1914.

Syphon drops under the tracks.

A great train spotting location.

And another passes – we could do this all day.

A brace reinforces a corrugated expansion joint.

A section was removed so a road could be built.

What a marvel of engineering.

And it’s been historically recognized.