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Get up close and personal with a vital piece of infrastructure at the Bassano Dam. You’ll find the dam on the Horseshoe Bend of the Bow River about 6 km (4 mi) southwest of the town of Bassano in southern Alberta. A scenic viewpoint is a great spot for a picnic, and group tours can be arranged through the Eastern Irrigation District. Construction of the dam began in 1910 and it opened four years later. The cost was about $1.4 million. You don’t get much infrastructure for $1.4 million these days, so that price tag will serve as a reminder of how much times have changed. What hasn’t changed is the dam’s purpose. Then as now, it diverts water from the Bow River for use in irrigation. In 1935, a group of local farmers bought the dam and formed the Eastern Irrigation District. The dam was refurbished in the 1980s (cost: $14 million). Today, it is fully computerized, but remains a symbol of pioneer ingenuity.
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