Formerly known as Lake Beautiful, Buntzen Lake is named after the first general manager of B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen. In 1903 the Buntzen hydroelectric project was put in service by the Vancouver Power Company to provide the first hydroelectric power to Vancouver.

The system has seen expansion and upgrades over the years, but the principle of power generation has remained the same. There are two powerhouses on the shoreline of Indian Arm, they draw water from Buntzen lake via large diameter steel pipes…. BUT to keep Buntzen’s water at a sufficent level, a 3.6 km long aqueduct was cut through Eagle Mountain to draw water from the much larger Coquitlam Reservoir to the North. This tunnel is a feat of engineering in itself and it reaches a depth of 1.2 km.

It was about a 6km hike  to reach the far end of the lake. Once there, I happily found out that the water flow out of the aqueduct was not a raging torrent, but a gentle trickle. So I put my camera into a drybag and swam out to the infall and entered the tunnel.  Once inside it took a while for my eyes to adjust from having been in the blaring sunlight all day. The poured concrete tunnel ran inwards for only about 10 metres, and after that the tunnel changed into blasted rock. The water was freezing cold and being barefoot in swimming trunks didn’t help.