Construction
Rising 40 metres in height above the river level, the reservoir (referred to locally as the "head pond") covers 87 square kilometres and extends 96 kilometres upstream, near Woodstock. The dam and powerhouse are a "run of the river" design, meaning that the reservoir has no additional holding capacity in the event of unusually high water flows, such as during the spring freshet.
The concrete portions of the dam (namely the spill-ways) are currently experiencing a problem of expanding concrete. When built, locally quarried greywacke was used as the aggregate and is believed to be responsible for the alkali-aggregate reaction expansion. The dam is being monitored and extra maintenance work is being performed, although the spill-way is expected to have a reduced life expectancy. The earliest projections put the dam's end-of-life at 2028, instead of the original 100-year lifespan of 2068. Even worse, the officials will not say how much it will cost and when it will show up on the utility's accounts.
Kingsclear, NB is also the site of an Atlantic Salmon fish hatchery, located immediately downstream from the dam. The Mactaquac Dam also has a fishway to catch salmon and transport them upriver.
The dam also serves as a locally important public road bridge across the Saint John River, linking provincial highways 102 and 105 on the south and north sides of the river.
Read more about this topic: Mactaquac Dam
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