Kootenay River Power History - South Slocan, BC
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 49° 27.283 W 117° 31.667
11U E 461749 N 5478140
This history lesson is at the trailhead of the southern terminus of the Slocan Valley Rail Trail, which runs 50 km. up the old CPR railway from here, at South Slocan, to Slocan City, on the southern end of Slocan Lake.
Waymark Code: WMJZ12
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/19/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
Views: 1

This trailhead is at the north east end of South Slocan Village Road at Highway 3A, 1.6 km. north east of the Highway 6 junction. The large sign at the trailhead details a bit of the history of power production on the nearby Kootenay River and the dams and generating stations which produce that power.
Corra Linn
Owned by FortisBC, this 49 MW, 3 generator facility was completed in 1932, and was the first dam to create water storage in the Kootenay River system.

Upper Bonnington
This 66 MW FortisBC plant was built in 1907 by West Kootenay Power and Light. Extended in 1916 and 1940, the plant has 6 generators.

Bonnington Falls
The City of Nelson power plant began operation in 1907 and has had many subsequent upgrades. Five generators have capacity of 16 MW.

Lower Bonnington
A rock-filled timber crib dam on this site(1897) was the first Kootenay River power installation. It was replaced in 1924 by the current FortisBC 54 MW facility.

Kootenay Canal
Kootenay Canal Generating Station is fed by a five kilometre canal which diverts water from the Kootenay River. The canal carries the water needed to spin the facility's four turbines. Completed in 1976, the Kootenay Canal Generating Station is owned by BC Hydro and is capable of generating up to 570 MW.

South Slocan
This concrete gravity run of the river dam is operated by FortisBC. Construction of the South Slocan by West Kootenay Power and Light began in 1926. By the summer of 1929 it was fully operational. It can produce 54 MW of power from three generators.
Columbia Basin Trust

Group that erected the marker: Columbia Basin Trust

URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]

Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
South Slocan Village Road
Highway 3A
South Slocan, BC Canada


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