Mékinac Dam
| Mékinac Dam | |
|---|---|
Missionary Lake in Quebec | |
| Official name | Barrage Mékinac |
| Country | Canada |
| Location | Trois-Rives, Quebec |
| Coordinates | 46°58′32.27″N 72°39′15.44″W / 46.9756306°N 72.6542889°W |
| Purpose | Regulation |
| Status | Operational |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Mékinac River |
| Height | 6.8 m (22 ft) |
| Length | 122 m (400 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Mékinac Lake |
| Total capacity | 95,317,615 m3 (77,275.248 acre⋅ft) |
| Catchment area | 877.5 km2 (338.8 sq mi) |
The Mékinac Dam was built between 2010-2011 on the Mékinac River, creating Mékinac Lake in the municipality of Trois-Rives, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality (RCM) in administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
Water flow through the dam into the Mékinac River which empties 26 km further, into the Saint-Maurice River at Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac in Middle Mauricie. The dam is located about seven miles northeast of the village of Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac and creates Mekinac tank (corresponding to Mékinac Lake), with a holding capacity 95,317,615 m³. The area of the tank is 2 296.8 ha. While the catchment area of 877.5 km²
This dam that was designed by Hydro-Quebec, has a length of 122 m., a height of 6.8 m., a retention height of 4.2 m. and a maximum discharge capacity of 232 m³/s.
The recro-tourism activities are very intense on this large body of water. The main purpose of the Mekinac dam is to regulate the water in Mékinac River and consequently the Saint-Maurice River, down to the hydro-dam of Grand-Mère, Shawinigan and La Gabelle.