page_title: Bow River
section_title: Hydroelectric development, 1910–1960
hierarchical_section_title: Bow River / History / Hydroelectric development, 1910–1960
caption_attribution_description: English: Bow River trestle bridge
context_page_description: The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These waters ultimately flow through the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. The Bow River runs through the city of Calgary, taking in the Elbow River at the historic site of Fort Calgary near downtown. The Bow River pathway, developed along the river's banks, is considered a part of Calgary's self-image.
  First Nations made varied use of the river for sustenance before settlers of European origin arrived, such as using its valleys in the buffalo hunt. The name Bow refers to the reeds that grew along its banks and were used by the First Nations to make bows; the Blackfoot language name for the river is Makhabn, meaning "river where bow reeds grow".
  The river is an important source of water for irrigation and drinking water. Between the years 1910 and 1960, the Bow River and its tributaries were engineered to provide hydroelectric power, primarily for Calgary's use. This significantly altered the river's flow and certain ecosystems.
context_section_description: Calgary was growing rapidly after 1900. The city businessmen pressed for dam construction in order to generate cheaper power from hydroelectric sources. William Maxwell Aitken, later with R. B. Bennett, formed Calgary Power Company in 1910. That year, on property purchased from the Nakoda, Calgary Power began constructing Alberta's first major hydroelectric plant, Horseshoe Dam.
  Calgary Power had problems before this dam was completed in 1911. The Bow River originates from a northern mountain, and its flow varies considerably depending upon the amount and location of winter snowfalls. A comprehensive study of the Bow's flow measurements had not been conducted. In its operations, Calgary Power relied upon estimates of the river's minimum flow during winter conditions. Thus, despite the amount of energy the company had contracted, it could not reliably fulfill these obligations during winters. With capital already invested in Horseshoe, Calgary Power opened another hydroelectric plant and reservoir two years later on the Bow's tributary, Kananaskis River. A reservoir was also created within Banff National Park in 1912 at Lake Minnewanka. Despite this additional reservoir and both plants, Calgary Power still struggled to fulfill its power contracts during winter months. In the 1920s, the company began planning new projects to control the Bow River.
  The Bow River's hydroelectric development both conforms to and contrasts with elements of conservationist ideology in the United States during this era. This ideology espoused that rational and planned resource development guided by technicians should benefit the greatest number of people possible. In this light, rivers could be seen as a series of interdependent parts, and engineering all of them could give technicians control over the system as a whole for the benefit of society.
  Admitting their failure to plan effectively, Calgary Power stated in the  In this process, Calgary Power ultimately fulfilled conservationist ideology as it increasingly brought the Bow River's interdependent sectors, and thus it as a whole, under control, while failing to embody conservationist ideals of rationally developing the Bow initially. Also in line with conservationism, bureaucrats allowing the construction of the Minnewanka reservoir espoused that the nation's development as a whole superseded the need to protect a small part of Banff National Park's nature.
  Calgary Power's ad hoc hydroelectric development of the Bow continued. Ghost Dam was built in 1929; a major development on the Bow's tributary, Spray River, was completed in 1951; and, at the behest of the provincial government, Bearspaw Dam was built in 1954 just west of Calgary to control flooding (the dam included a generating station). World War II's industrial demand increased pressure on the river: another hydroelectric development was built within Banff National Park, this time on the Cascade River, a tributary of the Bow.
  Between 1910 and 1960, the Bow River was radically changed as it was systematically engineered to control its water flow and provide hydroelectric power. The seasonal summer flooding in Calgary was an issue of the past. Water was held by reservoirs during spring and summer, permitting steady power generation during fall and winter. Comparing 1924–33 to 1954–63, the Bow River's January flow had approximately doubled 30 years later. Parts of the river, such as that preceding Ghost Dam, had practically turned into lakes. These developments had ecological effects, too. For example, reservoirs allowed certain fish species, such as the brown trout, to outcompete others, while other species virtually disappeared.
caption: Bow River trestle bridge
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