Brooks Aqueduct

Abstract

The Brooks Aqueduct is a very large elevated flume commissioned in 1914 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to carry water at the rate of 25.5 m3/s over a valley 3.2 km wide and 20 m deep. Construction of the aqueduct permitted the irrigation of a 50 000 ha block of land within a region now known as the Eastern Irrigation District in southern Alberta. The flume is 6.5 m wide and 2.5 m deep with a curved cross section. It is supported by 1030 columns. A 3000 mm diameter inverted syphon near the outlet of the flume permitted the crossing of the CPR main line through the valley. All components of the aqueduct, including the shell of the flume, columns, syphon, and inlet and outlet structures, were constructed of reinforced concrete. The Brooks Aqueduct was abandoned in 1979 with the completion of its earth-fill replacement. Except for a 122 m section, removed to permit the construction of a county road, the old aqueduct still stands. It serves to remind us of the significant engineering accomplishments of the pioneer civil engineers who helped to realize ambitions to irrigate the vast plains of southern Alberta at the turn of the century. On May 28, 1988, the Brooks Aqueduct was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Site by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Key words: Brooks Aqueduct, history.