Welcome to the Brooks Aqueduct

Welcome to the Brooks Aqueduct. . In the early 1900s the Canadian Pacific Railroad began construction of a huge irrigation project in Alberta comprising over a million hectares (3 million acres). Part of this original block land grant to the railway is now known as the Eastern Irrigation District (EID). The Bassano Dam and the Brooks Aqueduct were two of the major engineering works required to get the Eastern Section of the CPR's project into operation. An elevated canal was needed to carry Bow River water across a wide but shallow valley in order to supply irrigation for nearly one quarter of the land within what would become the EID. The CPR began construction of the Brooks Aqueduct in 1912, completed it in the fall of 1914 and ran irrigation water through it in the spring of 1915. Stretching over three kilometers, it was the longest concrete structure of its kind in the world and included the technical innovation of an inverted siphon which carried water under the CPR mainline track and up to grade again. Although the Aqueduct carried water for 63 years, escalating maintenance costs and recurring operational issues finally forced the EID to replace it with a more efficient earthen canal in 1979., The Brooks Aqueduct was designated as a Provincial Historic Resource in 1980 and as a National Historic Site in 1983. In 1987 it was declared to be “One of Ten Engineering Milestones in Alberta” by the Engineering Centennial. Interpretation of this nationally significant work of irrigation engineering has been made possible through the cooperative efforts of the Province of Alberta, the Government of Canada, The Eastern Irrigation District, Canadian Badlands Inc., and the former Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration., We hope you will enjoy your visit to the Brooks Aqueduct National/Provincial Historic Site! Please take advantage of the picnic areas, playground and washroom facilities. Our interpreters are available to answer any questions and to deliver guided site tours. You might also like to take a stroll along the Aqueduct with our self-guiding brochure. An exceptional wildlife and wetland viewing area is accessible just over a kilometer down the Aqueduct road. Please stay on the walking paths provided as you explore the site. . This historical marker was erected by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agri-Environment Services Branch. It is Near Brooks in Newell County Alberta