Ruskin Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Stave River in

Ruskin, British Columbia Ruskin is a rural, naturally-treed community, about east of Vancouver on the north shore of the Fraser River. It was named around 1900 after of the English art critic, essayist, and prominent social thinker John Ruskin. Ruskin is one of the hi ...

, Canada. The dam was completed in 1930 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation. The dam created

Hayward Lake Hayward Lake is a lake and reservoir on the Stave River in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the District of Mission about 60 km east of Vancouver, Hayward Lake is formed by Ruskin Dam, which lies about 3 km up ...

, which supplies water to a 105 MW powerhouse and flooded the Stave's former lower canyon, which ended in a small waterfall approximately where the dam is today.

Background

Ruskin Dam was constructed along with the Western Canada Power Company's hydroelectric development of the Stave Valley. Stave Falls Dam was completed in 1912 and

Alouette Dam Stave Falls Dam is a dual-dam power complex on the Stave River in Stave Falls, British Columbia, Canada. The dam was completed in 1912 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power production. To increase the capacity of Stave Lake, the dam was ...

, the third dam in the system, in 1928. Construction on Ruskin Dam, about downstream of Stave Falls began in 1929 by the British Columbia Electric Railway who had previously bought Western Canada Power in 1921. In November 1930, the dam was inaugurated and local businessmen and politicians celebrated by dining in its powerhouse. Only two generators were operational at first and the third was added in 1950. The first superintendent of Stave Falls Dam was the namesake for Hayward Lake. In 1961, when the provincial government took over the

BC Electric Company The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contro ...

, the dam became the property of BC Hydro, a Crown corporation.

Upgrade

Beginning in 2012 and continuing until 2018, the dam and its facilities are expected to undergo an C$800 million upgrade. The project includes replacing the generators, reinforcing the right bank of the dam, upgrading the intake and

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

s, replacing the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

piers and gates and relocating the switchyard. The upgrades are aimed at bringing the dam and its facilities up to safety standards, improving their seismic performance and increasing their efficiency and life. Three new 38MW turbine-generators provide a slight capacity increase to 114MW.

Design

Ruskin Dam is a tall and long concrete gravity type. The dam creates a reservoir (Hayward Lake) with a capacity and surface area. The dam sits at the outlet of a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

and the reservoir extends . The dam's

is an ogee-type and consists of seven

radial gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the c ...

s. It has a maximum discharge capacity. The dam's powerhouse is immediately adjacent on the river's eastern bank. It contains three 35 MW Francis turbine- generators and water is fed to each by a single

. Access to the powerhouse is by a

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

from the company offices on the west side of the river.

Operation

Ruskin Dam is part of the Alouette-Stave Falls-Ruskin Hydroelectric Complex. Upstream of the dam is the

Stave Falls Dam and Powerhouse Stave Falls Dam is a dual-dam power complex on the Stave River in Stave Falls, British Columbia, Canada. The dam was completed in 1912 for the primary purpose of hydroelectric power production. To increase the capacity of Stave Lake, the dam was ...

which has an installed capacity of 90 MW. Supplementing Stave Lake is small amount of water from Alouette Lake which is created by the

in northern Maple Ridge via long tunnel connecting intakes at the northern end of Alouette Lake and Stave Lake. At the end of the tunnel is a penstock which feeds the 8 MW

Alouette Powerhouse Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

on the western shore of Stave Lake approximately 8 km north of Stave Dam. Water released from Stave Falls Dam flows into Hayward Lake and is used by the Ruskin Dam for power generation.

In popular culture

The dam has been a filming location for the TV series ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

'', '' Smallville'', '' Dark Angel'' and the movie '' The Invisible''. In ''Smallville'' episodes ''" Prototype"'', ''"

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...

"'' and ''"

Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #68 (1958 ...

"'', it is referred to as "Reeves Dam", a homage to the late Superman actors

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

and

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

External links

Ruskin page, Maple Ridge Museum and Community Archives websiteFlickr gallery "Ruskin", Maple Ridge Community Association

References

{{reflist Dams in British Columbia Gravity dams Hydroelectric power stations in British Columbia Mission, British Columbia Dams completed in 1930 BC Hydro Publicly owned dams in Canada