Discover the 7 Largest Dams In Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world only to Russia. It is home to the famous Niagra Falls just outside of Buffalo, New York. The home of maple syrup has many different lakes and rivers spanning across the country as far as the Alaskan border to Nova Scotia. With over 8,500 rivers, roughly 888,000 lakes, and three oceans surrounding the country itself, dams are vital for Canada.

They prevent flooding along with providing clean sources of water and energy. This article will cover some of the largest dams in Canada. The dams will be ranked at the end of the list

Cleveland

The Cleveland Dam is located in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This two-hundred-ninety-nine-foot-tall dam is located at the head of the Capilano River. It helps a portion of the Lower Mainland’s drinking water and captures water from one of the three Metro Vancouver Watersheds.

Cleveland Dam is named after famous Canadian engineer Ernest Albert Cleveland. Ernest was the first guy to see the need for proper maintenance of the freshwater supply. His innovations in that realm allowed him to be the chairman of the Greater Vancouver Water District from 1926 until his death in 1952. Construction of the dam began in 1951 and ended in 1954.

This specific dam can be found in pop culture TV shows and films like Smallville, The Predator, and MacGyver. Not to mention, the dam can be seen in the Dawn of the Planet of The Apes film.

Daniel-Johnson

This behemoth of a dam is a multiple-arch business dam located on the Manicougagan River. Thanks to the dam, it created the Manicougagan Reservoir. It took eleven years for the dam to be constructed between 1959-1970. Daniel-Johnson Dam is seven hundred two feet tall and four thousand three hundred eleven feet long. It is the largest dam of its kind in the world. Is it the largest dam in Canada though? Keep reading.

It was named after Daniel Johnson Sr.

Daniel was the twentieth premier, or governor for American readers, of Quebec. He was the one to initiate the construction of the dam as he was serving as a minister in the government. However, he died on the day of the dam’s inauguration. The main purpose of the Daniel-Johnson dam was to provide hydroelectric power to the areas around the dam.

Ideas for the dam began in the 1920s after studies on the environment at the Manicougagan River. But many drawbacks from the lack of roads and the potential costliness of building a dam in the wilderness squashed the idea. Yet, the main idea resurfaced after World War 2 after the discovery of large iron deposits in the North Shore.

Now it helps as a power source that also maintains the fifth-largest river AND reservoir on Earth. Here’s another odd fact to know: the priming of the dam created the second largest island located in a lake: the René-Levasseur Island.

Robert-Bourassa

The Robert-Bourassa Dam is a five-hundred-seventy-four-foot dam in North Quebec, Canada. It was constructed during the 1970s to provide water needed for the generating stations. It created the Robert Bourassa Reservoir behind the dam. The “giant staircase” helps the world’s largest underground generating station at the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir. The underground and the visible dam components create the twelfth largest hydroelectric station in the world.

Bassano

The Bassano Dam is six miles southwest of Bassano, Canada. The dam is visible on the Horseshoe Bend of the Bow River. Construction of the dam was completed in 1914. The Bassano Dam is seven hundred feet tall. It contains a large system of drains and canals along with thirteen internal storage reservoirs.

In 1984, the dam had to be refurbished. Some of the refurbishing included new concrete, new gates installation, and the addition of a computerized structure. People can fish at the dam and go on group tours.

St. Andrews Lock & Dam

The St. Andrews Lock & Dam is located in Lockport, MB. It’s only two hundred feet tall but eight hundred eighty-five feet long. It has fifteen piers that are fifteen feet tall. What makes the dam unique is the style of the dam itself. It’s a “camere” dam. The structure utilizes moveable curtains to raise or lower in order to control water flow. There are eighty-nine curtains in the dam. New wooden curtains are installed into the dam every three years in order to optimize the dam’s functioning. The Canadian Society of Civil Engineering designated the bridge dam as a Historic Civil Engineering site. Why? They recognize it as the possible only surviving dam of its kind in the world. There is a monument at the site of the dam to observe the unique distinction.

Revelstoke

The Revelstoke Dam is a one hundred seventy-five feet tall dam. It spans the Columbia River north of Revelstoke, Canada. This created and destroyed many sites within the Revelstoke area. One of the areas includes the wildly named “Death Rapids” that stretches the canyon above the dam. Towns were relocated and highways were repaved in order to make room for the dam and the reservoirs.

They have a visitor’s center that is open seasonally. Staff offers tours of the dam and interactive exhibits that allow people to learn more about the dam. British Columbia Hydro owns the dam and they have added a total of six power units as of 2018 into the dam to help with providing power for the area. The six power units make it the most powerful dam on the Columbia River. The town of Revelstoke is also a fun place to visit.

W.A.C. Bennett

Now onto an even taller dam. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam is six hundred teen feet tall! It is recognized as one of the highest earth-filled dams. After seven years, the dam was fully working in 1968. The total cost of the project was seven hundred fifty million dollars. Therefore, it makes it one of the largest projects in British Columbia engineering history. The video above shows how the dam works and how it can handle overflowing water and other situations. This is another dam named after another Premier in British Columbia W.A.C. Bennett. Bennett was Premier from 1952-1972.

Controversies Around The Dam

This was a controversial project though due to its immediate effects on the environment. Over three hundred fifty thousand acres of land were flooded due to the dam project. It did create the Williston Lake and it affected the region for better and worse. The flooding issues were eventually resolved. However, another controversy came. The flooding resulted in the displacement of many Ingenkia residents there. Social displacement occurred due to the loss of land. It resulted in the isolation and alienation of those Ingenkian residents. Although those issues happened, the project was seen as a massive commercial success due to it being far from mass civilization.

There was one more controversy to this dam and it comes down to the safety of the construction workers. Unfortunately, sixteen workers lost their lives while building the enormous dam. The construction of the dam had occasional cave-ins, and robust exhaust fumes, and the tight spaces made people feel claustrophobic.

The Dam Today

Today, the dam impounds the Peace River. There was an original initiative for it to impound two rivers, but they stuck with one river instead. Why? well, the project managers saw better power potential in the Peace River rather than focusing on using one dam for two rivers. The dam gets regular upgrades and modifications done to it so it can still maintain its high power creation output.

Summary of The 7 Largest Canadian Dams