The accompanying map of the Galt Canal system shows how the bulk of irrigation waters were diverted from the St. Mary River about 40 miles away, near a place called Kimball, south of the town of Cardston. From there, a series of constructed canals and natural waterways were used as a conduit to get the irrigation water here. At the Magrath Dam and Headworks, collected waters were then diverted through headgates into the main canal, for use as irrigation waters nearby and for irrigation many miles hence. The dam and headgates complex at Magrath was in operation for about 50 years, until a new dam and modern canal (utilizing on-stream storage) was constructed at the St. Mary Reservoir.
The old canal and its headworks at Magrath remain the grandfather of today’s modern irrigation industry in Southern Alberta. The construction of this First Major Irrigation Canal involved moving some 1.5 million cubic yards of earth, using 11 million board feet of lumber, and 1500 workers along a route covering 90 miles (145 km) of distance. It was a work of unbelievable heroics, in the midst of a pioneer land.
Three additional irrigation sites of significance are shown on the accompanying map. These include: the location (and photo) of the original wooden headgates at Kimball (40 mi. west) near Cardston; the location (and photo) of the Diversion of irrigation waters from Pine Pound Creek near Spring Coulee (10 mi. west); and the location (and photo) of an ancient, wooden radial gate, once used along the Nine Mile Coulee reach of the canal to Lethbridge, approximately eight miles north of here, near Welling, Alberta.
+ 3 existing photos (Kimball Gates, Spring Coulee Diversion, Radial Gate near Welling.)
The old canal and its headworks at Magrath remain the grandfather of today’s modern irrigation industry in Southern Alberta. The construction of this First Major Irrigation Canal involved moving some 1.5 million cubic yards of earth, using 11 million board feet of lumber, and 1500 workers along a route covering 90 miles (145 km) of distance. It was a work of unbelievable heroics, in the midst of a pioneer land.
Three additional irrigation sites of significance are shown on the accompanying map. These include: the location (and photo) of the original wooden headgates at Kimball (40 mi. west) near Cardston; the location (and photo) of the Diversion of irrigation waters from Pine Pound Creek near Spring Coulee (10 mi. west); and the location (and photo) of an ancient, wooden radial gate, once used along the Nine Mile Coulee reach of the canal to Lethbridge, approximately eight miles north of here, near Welling, Alberta.
+ 3 existing photos (Kimball Gates, Spring Coulee Diversion, Radial Gate near Welling.)
Then and Now: A Collection of Photos of the Galt Dam & Head Gates
Magrath Museum
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