A cylindrical structure at the foot of Tache Avenue in St. Boniface, built between 1918 and 1919 by Thomas Kelly and Sons, provided a means whereby the pressure from 24 kilometres of water flowing at a significant velocity through the Shoal Lake Aqueduct is relieved automatically when the rate of discharge of the downstream system is reduced. Without the tank, the conduit would burst.
An adjacent booster station was designed by the architectural firm of Green, Blankstein, Russell & Associates and built in 1951 for the Greater Winnipeg Water District (GWWD). The facility was opened formally on 31 May 1951 by GWWD Administrative Board Chairman Garnet Coulter. A commemorative plaque also named GWWD officials William Donald Hurst (Chairman of Commissioners) and Nathan Simon “Nat” Bubbis (General Manager).
St. Boniface Surge Tank (June 2017)
Source: George Penner
Booster Pumping Station commemorative plaque (October 2024)
Source: Glen Toews
Winnipeg Waterworks Booster Pumping Station at left with the surge tank at right(May 2017)
Source: Nathan KramerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89784, W97.12892
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Shoal Lake Aqueduct (Winnipeg)
Not All Down Hill From There: The Shoal Lake Aqueduct and the Greater Winnipeg Water District by David A. Ennis
Manitoba History, Number 75, Summer 2014
“Aqueduct wonderful feat,” Winnipeg Tribune, 25 January 1919, page 45.
“Mayor opens new pumping station,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 June 1951, page 5.
Winnipeg Aqueduct St. Boniface Surge Tank (866 Avenue Tache), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings and Resources Committee, April 2018.
We thank Nathan Kramer, George Penner, and Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Dave Ennis and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 2 November 2024
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