Coquitlam Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

located just north of

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. It is one of the three main water sources for

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

, and part of the Coquitlam watershed. It is also a part of

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exce ...

's power generation system. A tunnel directs water from the lake to nearby Buntzen Lake, and from there to a pair of power stations.

History

Construction of the tunnel between Coquitlam Lake and Buntzen Lake began in 1902 and finished in 1905, supplying water to powerhouses on

Indian Arm Indian Arm ( hur, səl̓ilw̓ət) is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcarra ...

, which supplied electricity to Vancouver.Will Koop
Coquitlam Watershed History
Retrieved on 22 February 2009 The first

Coquitlam Dam Coquitlam Dam is a hydraulic fill embankment dam on the Coquitlam River in the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia. Although it has no powerhouse of its own, its waters divert to Buntzen Lake, making it part of BC Hydro's electrical generation ...

, built to raise the water level by , was begun in April 1904 and completed in 1905. It was built to protect the water supply to the powerhouses, and also supplied water to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

. By 1906 the original dam was discovered to be leaking, and while repairs were made the leak continued through 1908, until the current dam was completed in 1914. There is a glacier in the watershed of the reservoir, Coquitlam Glacier, which is the only glacier in Metro Vancouver. It formed during the

Little Ice Age The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Ma ...

and is shrinking due to the effects of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. It is expected to melt by 2050.

References

External links

Coquitlam Lake at BCGNIS
{{Coquitlam Landforms of Coquitlam Lakes of the Lower Mainland Reservoirs in British Columbia New Westminster Land District