Major Irrigation Projects
South Saskatchewan River Projects

One hundred years after Hind's visit, the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan signed the agreement that would bring such a dam into being. Their goal was to create a huge reservoir in the center of the Palliser triangle and thereby use the waters of the South Saskatchewan for a variety of purposes- irrigation, urban and rural water supply, hydroelectric power generation and recreation. Prior to construction of the project, less than one per cent of the river's flow in Saskatchewan was being used.

To bring Lake Diefenbaker into existence, two dams had to be built- the Gardiner, which was the main structure, and the Qu'Appelle, which was needed to control the amount of water flowing from the South Saskatchewan into the Qu'Appelle River system. PFRA was responsible for the planning, design and supervision of construction for this massive undertaking. Construction costs were shared by Canada and Saskatchewan, with the province contributing $25 million and the remainder, which would total $95 million, being provided by the federal government.

The design and construction of the Gardiner Dam was a tremendous engineering challenge, due partly to the difficult nature of the shale foundation rock underlying the damsite. Work on the structure began in 1959 and was completed in 1967. One of the largest earth-fill dams in the world, it measures 64 meters in height, 5,000 meters in length and contains 65 million cubic meters of material. Its 1.2 km-long spillway is capable of discharging water at the rate of 7,500 m³/s. The Qu'Appelle Dam, though smaller, is still impressive.

Started in 1963, the dam stands 27 meters high and 3,300 meters long. Together they create Lake Diefenbaker, which stretches for 225 km and contains 9.4 million dam³ of water.

The South Saskatchewan River Project provides an array of benefits to both the surrounding area and beyond. With water from Lake Diefenbaker, the province has developed nearly 35,000 ha of land for irrigation, which represents one third of the current Saskatchewan total. Using water from the project, the potential to irrigate a much greater area exists.

Irrigation has brought a diversification of agriculture in what was primarily a wheat-growing area. The Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre (formerly the Demonstration Farm) at Outlook has played an important part in this conversion. With specialty crop production, food processing and other irrigation-related businesses have grown up, bolstering the economy of Saskatchewan.

More than the farming sector has reaped rewards. The hydroelectric station at the dam site provides much of Saskatchewan's power needs, while the reservoir helps supply water to a variety of municipal and industrial users, and the cities of Saskatoon, Regina, and Moose Jaw. The lake hosts the Danielson, Douglas, and the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Parks, as well as three regional parks, Palliser, Prairie Lake, and Herbert Ferry. The lake also supports three marinas and several cottage subdivisions. It also provides habitat for several species, and water piped to Luck Lake Marsh provides wetland for shorebirds, waterfowl and other wildlife. Lake Diefenbaker's roughly 800 km of shoreline offers ample opportunity for recreation.

PFRA was responsible for the planning, design and supervision of construction for this massive undertaking. The province assumed ownership of the South Saskatchewan River Project in 1969, but PFRA continued its maintenance and operation until 1994. From that point on, the province took on total financial responsibility for both dams. SaskWater took over general maintenance of the Gardiner Dam in 1994.

Facts about the South Saskatchewn River Project

• The South Saskatchewan River supplies roughly 8.3 billion m³ of water a year. Lake Diefenbaker can store one half of that flow.
• About 45% of Saskatchewan's population receives their drinking water either directly or indirectly from Lake Diefenbaker.
• The lake lies in a 42,000 hectare, or 103,740 - acre bowl between the Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam. It supplies water to approximately 43,000 hectares (106,210 acres) of farmland.
• At full-supply, the reservoir's level is 556.86 metres.
• Up to 345,000 dam³ of water evaporated from the lake each year - an amount that would fill 90,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
• For construction of these two dams, PFRA paid $95 million, while the province paid $25 million, for a total of $120 million. Today, that would amount to $1 billion.
• The Gardiner Dam is the largest earth-filled dam in Canada and one of the largest in the world. It measures 64 metres high, is 5,000 metres in length, and was constructed out of 65 million m³ of material.
• The 1.2 km-long Gardiner spillway is capable of discharging water at the rate of 7,500 m3/s. It required 280,000 m^{3 /sup>of reinforced concrete to complete.}
• The Qu'Appelle Dam is 27 metres high, and 3,100 metres long.
• Lake Diefenbaker stretches for 225 km, has a shoreline of almost 800 km, and contains 9.4 million dam³ of water.
• About 94% of the water released from Lake Diefenbaker passes through the penstocks of the Coteau Creek Power Station to produce electricity for the province.
• The lake provides habitat for the Piping Plover, a shorebird that was listed as an endangered species in 1985. Lake Diefenbaker is one of the few places this bird can be found.