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We own 28 dams throughout the watershed. There are two classes of dams: multi-purpose and small dams.
Seven large multi-purpose dams and reservoirs were built between 1942 and 1976 for flood control and low flow augmentation.
Other dams, including many built in the 1800s and early 1900s, were built for transportation, water power and water supply. Today they have primarily recreational, aesthetic or historical value.
The seven large multi-purpose dams and reservoirs are critical to the safety and health of the watershed.
Shand, Conestogo and Guelph are the workhorses of the flood control operation. They can reduce flood peaks by 50 per cent or more in flood-prone communities such as Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, Cayuga and Dunnville.
In the summer and fall, water released from the reservoirs ensures the rivers and streams keep flowing. We are committed to maintaining minimum flow levels at Grand Valley, Guelph, Kitchener and Brantford. This ensures there is enough water to support municipal drinking water systems that take water from the rivers, as well as the wastewater treatment plants, which put treated effluent into the rivers and streams.
Dams are danger zones! Make safety a priority.
Built: 1942
Location: Grand River near Fergus (Google map - Shand Dam location)
Height: 22.5 metres
Storage capacity (Belwood Lake): 63.9 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control, low flow augmentation, hydro power
Video: Learn more about Shand Dam and its role in flood management, and even take a look at what it's like inside, in this 9-minute video produced by the Region of Waterloo for Digital Doors Open Waterloo Region (2020).
Built: 1952
Location: Black Creek, a tributary of the Grand River, near Grand Valley (Google map - Luther Dam location)
Height: 5 metres
Storage capacity: 28.0 million cubic metres
Functions: Primarily low flow augmentation, limited flood control
Built: 1958
Location: Conestogo River between Drayton and Glen Allan (Google map - Conestogo Dam location)
Height: 23.1 metres
Storage capacity: 59.5 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control, low flow augmentation, hydro power
Built: 1968
Location: Laurel Creek in Waterloo (Google map - Laurel Dam location)
Height: 5.6 metres
Storage capacity: 2.5 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control
Built: 1973
Location: Mill Creek in Cambridge (Google map - Shade's Mill Dam location)
Height: 9.8 metres
Storage capacity: 3.2 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control
Built: 1974
Location: Canagagigue Creek near Elmira (Google map - Woolwich Dam location)
Height: 11.7 metres
Storage capacity: 5.5 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control, low flow augmentation
Built: 1976
Location: Speed River near Guelph (Google map - Guelph Dam location)
Height: 14.3 metres
Storage capacity: 22.4 million cubic metres
Functions: Flood control, low flow augmentation, hydro power
We own 21 other dams, many of them built in the 1800s and early 1900s for water power, transportation and water supply. Many of these dams are called "run of the river" or "low head dams". That means that they span the river, with water flowing over them, rather than through control gates or other outlets.
These dams are often a community amenity and recreational area. However, most do not provide flood control or improve river flow.
Notable legacy dams include Drimmie (Elora), Wellington Street (Guelph), Parkhill (Cambridge), Wilkes (Brantford), New Hamburg, Breslau, New Dundee, Caledonia and Dunnville.
There are about 200 more dams in the watershed owned by municipalities and private landowners. The owners of these dams are responsible to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for their operation.
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