The Eastern Section of the CPR irrigation block between Bassano and Suffield gave the company some hope of recapturing their investment. Having reconciled itself to long term cost recovery through settlement and increased rail traffic, the CPR began construction of the costly irrigation structures.

Unlike the easy access to the Bow River at Calgary, tapping the water further west required a dam to raise its level of 40 ft. At Horseshoe Bend, the Bassano Dam diverted part of the river into a network of canals and storage reservoirs to service most of the Eastern Section.