Glenmore Reservoir - Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures

  • The Glenmore Water Treatment Plant, constructed in three phases in 1933, 1957 and 1965, is a conventional treatment plant that gets its water from the Elbow river. The Glenmore plant supplies drinking water to south Calgary.
  • The reservoir is maintained at a level, depending on the flow rate of the Elbow river, that minimizes the risk of flooding around the reservoir and downstream of the dam to the greatest degree possible.
  • The dam, one of the heaviest in North America, is 320 metres long with a base width of 21 metres.
  • William Gore and Bill Storie designed the Glenmore Dam.
  • Dams such as Glenmore use the downward force (gravity) of the weight of the construction materials,(concrete), to resist the horizontal force of the water they hold. These massive dams resist the thrust of water entirely by their own weight.
  • In deep water, there is more water "piled up,"causing the pressure to be greater at the bottom than at the surface. A dam's design must enable it to withstand greater pressure at the bottom than at the top.
  • During periods when the rate flow of the Elbow River reaches dangerous levels, water may be released from the dam to prevent overflow.

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