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Mactaquac Dam
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Mactaquac Dam
The Mactaquac Dam is an embankment dam used to generate hydroelectricity in Mactaquac, New Brunswick. It dams the waters of the Saint John River and is operated by NB Power with a capacity to generate 670 megawatts of electricity from 6 turbines; this represents 20 percent of New Brunswick's power demand.
Formally called the Mactaquac Generating Station, the dam and power house are located approximately 19 km (12 mi) upstream from the city of Fredericton. The dam is an embankment dam consisting of a rock-fill structure sealed by clay. It combines with two concrete spill-ways to form an arch across a narrow section of the river between the communities of Kingsclear on the west bank, and Keswick Ridge on the east bank.
Rising 40 metres in height above the river level, the reservoir (referred to locally as the "head pond" or Lake Mactaquac) covers 87 square kilometres and extends 96 kilometres upstream, near Woodstock. The dam and powerhouse are a "run of the river" design, meaning that the reservoir has no additional holding capacity in the event of unusually high water flows, such as during the spring freshet.
Kingsclear, NB is the site of an Atlantic Salmon fish hatchery, located immediately downstream from the dam. The Mactaquac Dam also has a fishway to catch salmon and transport them upriver.
The dam also serves as a locally important public road bridge across the Saint John River, linking provincial highways 102 and 105 on the south and north sides of the river.
Electrical generation began in 1968 after the reservoir, Mactaquac Lake, had completely filled. The flooding of the valley resulted in the displacement of several thousand residents and land owners in areas such as Bear Island and other small communities, as well as the abandonment of a Canadian National Railway line and numerous local roads and small rural communities. A historic waterfall called the Pokiok Falls was also submerged as the reservoir filled.
Some new infrastructure was also built as part of the planned flooding of the Saint John River valley. The provincial government built Highway 2 (the Trans Canada Highway) along the southwestern shoreline of the flooded valley. Since 2001, this road has been bypassed and is now designated Highway 102. The Hawkshaw Bridge, a cable-stayed suspension bridge, was constructed across the valley from Hawkshaw to Southampton. At the time of construction in 1967, the bridge was high above the valley floor and the original river level. The planned town of Nackawic-Millville, New Brunswick and the nearby St. Anne Nackawic pulp and paper mill were also built to accommodate the new reservoir and the new electrical power opportunities. Closer to the dam, the Mactaquac Provincial Park, including a marina and beach was also built.
Following the success of preserving historic buildings at Upper Canada Village when the upper St. Lawrence River valley was flooded by the Long Sault Dam, the government of New Brunswick created the King's Landing Historical Settlement to save several buildings which would otherwise have been flooded by the Mactaquac Headpond.
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Mactaquac Dam
The Mactaquac Dam is an embankment dam used to generate hydroelectricity in Mactaquac, New Brunswick. It dams the waters of the Saint John River and is operated by NB Power with a capacity to generate 670 megawatts of electricity from 6 turbines; this represents 20 percent of New Brunswick's power demand.
Formally called the Mactaquac Generating Station, the dam and power house are located approximately 19 km (12 mi) upstream from the city of Fredericton. The dam is an embankment dam consisting of a rock-fill structure sealed by clay. It combines with two concrete spill-ways to form an arch across a narrow section of the river between the communities of Kingsclear on the west bank, and Keswick Ridge on the east bank.
Rising 40 metres in height above the river level, the reservoir (referred to locally as the "head pond" or Lake Mactaquac) covers 87 square kilometres and extends 96 kilometres upstream, near Woodstock. The dam and powerhouse are a "run of the river" design, meaning that the reservoir has no additional holding capacity in the event of unusually high water flows, such as during the spring freshet.
Kingsclear, NB is the site of an Atlantic Salmon fish hatchery, located immediately downstream from the dam. The Mactaquac Dam also has a fishway to catch salmon and transport them upriver.
The dam also serves as a locally important public road bridge across the Saint John River, linking provincial highways 102 and 105 on the south and north sides of the river.
Electrical generation began in 1968 after the reservoir, Mactaquac Lake, had completely filled. The flooding of the valley resulted in the displacement of several thousand residents and land owners in areas such as Bear Island and other small communities, as well as the abandonment of a Canadian National Railway line and numerous local roads and small rural communities. A historic waterfall called the Pokiok Falls was also submerged as the reservoir filled.
Some new infrastructure was also built as part of the planned flooding of the Saint John River valley. The provincial government built Highway 2 (the Trans Canada Highway) along the southwestern shoreline of the flooded valley. Since 2001, this road has been bypassed and is now designated Highway 102. The Hawkshaw Bridge, a cable-stayed suspension bridge, was constructed across the valley from Hawkshaw to Southampton. At the time of construction in 1967, the bridge was high above the valley floor and the original river level. The planned town of Nackawic-Millville, New Brunswick and the nearby St. Anne Nackawic pulp and paper mill were also built to accommodate the new reservoir and the new electrical power opportunities. Closer to the dam, the Mactaquac Provincial Park, including a marina and beach was also built.
Following the success of preserving historic buildings at Upper Canada Village when the upper St. Lawrence River valley was flooded by the Long Sault Dam, the government of New Brunswick created the King's Landing Historical Settlement to save several buildings which would otherwise have been flooded by the Mactaquac Headpond.
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