Brilliant Dam is the final one of seven on the stretch of the Kootenay River between Nelson and Castlegar. At Castlegar the river empties into the Columbia River. The dam is named after the nearest community, Brilliant, which was settled by the Doukhobors about 1908.
Brilliant Dam, the last of the Kootenay River projects. designed by West Kootenay Power & Light Company, represents a transition point. It was engineered largely by WKP&L staff, but constructed by Cominco, who by now controlled the pioneering electrical company. The project was driven by the requirements of the Allied war effort, and made possible by a priority rating which guaranteed the provision of materials such as steel which were made scarce by the war. Also crucial to its timely development was the local presence of available skilled manpower — the Doukhobors, who were exempted from military service. They represented 60% of the entire workforce.
Early work commenced in 1940 and involved the relocation of over 3 km. of rail line, a segment of the provincial highway, and improvements to the river channel below the future dam site. Major construction started in earnest in April 1942. The river was constrained in temporary channels by wood-crib cofferdams so that work could proceed in previously flooded locations. The dam was essentially completed in 1944, with the first generating unit producing power on June 15 of that year. Two and a half months later the second unit was brought on line. The third generator was added in 1950, and the fourth in 1968.
Brilliant Dam was purchased from Cominco in 1996 by the newly-formed Columbia Power Corporation and their joint venture partner Columbia Basin Trust. The partners initiated work on several upgrades to increase the lifespan of the facility, make generation more efficient and boost overall power output from the original 120 MW to 145 MW. Construction of a new plant on the left bank commenced in 2003 in order to utilize water that was formerly spilled. The new plant employs a single Kaplan turbine to generate an additional 120 MW when the water supply is sufficient to run both plants to full capacity.
Construction Highlights
• January, 1941 - commencement of preliminary work by WKP&L, involving relocation of highway and railway as well as improvement work in the river channel.
• May 5, 1941 - first train run on the relocated railway.
• September, 1941 - an agreement is reached between the federal government and Cominco to construct the dam as a war measure, with provision for special depreciation allowances and priority ratings for scarce supplies.
• April 1, 1942 - as Kootenay Engineering Company (a Cominco subsidiary) takes over full responsibility for construction, the pace of progress accelerates.
• March, 1943 - work commences on the draft tube components, after the excavation has been extended below the toe of the previously-formed penstock blocks.
• May, 1943 - work is well under way on the first two spillway blocks which incorporate diversion tunnels.
• November, 1943 - as the diversion spillway blocks are completed, work commences on the placement of cofferdams across the original river channel, so as to divert the flow through the tunnels.
• March, 1944 - first concrete is placed in the dry river bed and construction is accelerated so that in two months the remaining spillway blocks are built all the way to the left bank abutment
• June 7, 1944 - the first power is generated by Unit No. 2, and the power is transmitted to Trail a week later.