A Brief History
of the
Old Pinawa Dam Heritage Park


-- Part III --

The Waterways

Three weirs (small dams that elevate the water level and allow excess water to flow over) were constructed to force the water from the Winnipeg River to flow down the Pinawa Channel.

Section of Spillway B Section x-x wier C
Key Plan of Wiers
The Spillway "B" was at the Pinawa Generating Station. The Control Dam and Weir "D" were near present day Pinawa at the end of what is now Highway 211. Weir "C" was in Sharkeys Channel, while Weir "A" was near the present day resort town of Otter Falls

Working on Weir
Working on Weir "C" in Sharkeys Channel - 1917

Across the entrance of the Pinawa Channel, a control dam had to be built to regulate the amount of water flowing to the Pinawa Dam. People lived at the Control Dam year round and it was so important, that it was linked to the hydro dam by telephone.

Control Dam Construction - 30 Oct 1905
Control Dam Construction - 30 Oct 1905

The Control Dam in use
 Log cabin and bunkhouse at the Control dam in 1948
The Control Dam in Use
30 May 1906
Log cabin and bunkhouse at
the Control dam in 1948



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Last Updated February 16, 2006

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