Coquitlam Dam is a hydraulic fill

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

on the

Coquitlam River The Coquitlam River ( /koʊˈkwɪtləm/ or /kəˈkwɪtləm/) is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The river's name comes from the word Kʷikʷəƛ̓əm which translates to "Red fish up the river". The na ...

in the city of

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. Although it has no powerhouse of its own, its waters divert to Buntzen Lake, making it part of BC Hydro's electrical generation infrastructure. It is also one of the main reservoirs for the Greater Vancouver Water District. BC Hydro has released a new document in March 2018 that addresses emergency preparedness and outlines the areas effected should the dam fail as a result of an extreme earthquake event.

History

The first Coquitlam Dam, built to raise the water level of

Coquitlam Lake Coquitlam Lake is a reservoir located just north of Coquitlam, British Columbia. It is one of the three main water sources for Metro Vancouver, and part of the Coquitlam watershed. It is also a part of BC Hydro's power generation system. A tunnel ...

by five feet, was begun in April 1904, and completed in 1905. It was built to protect the water supply to powerhouses on

Indian Arm Indian Arm ( hur, səl̓ilw̓ət) is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcar ...

, via a tunnel to Buntzen Lake, and also supplied water to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

.Will Koop
Coquitlam Watershed History
Retrieved on 22 February 2009 By 1906 the original dam was discovered to be leaking, and while repairs were made the leak continued through 1908, until a second dam was completed in 1914. At the time of the tunnel's completion, it was the longest power diversion tunnel in the world. Due to seismic concerns, an embankment dam was built on the downstream side of the original rockfill dam in 2008.BC Hydro

Retrieved 12 March 2009 The Port Moody-Coquitlam Railway, no longer operating, was built to assist with the dam's construction.

References

External links

Aerial image of dam, BC Hydro
*https://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/corporate/safety/March-2018-Coquitlam-Dam-Emergency-Prep-Map.pdf Geography of Coquitlam Buildings and structures in Coquitlam Dams in British Columbia Dams completed in 1914 Publicly owned dams in Canada {{dam-stub