In 1969, the federal and provincial governments agreed to assume the major cost of irrigation system regeneration. The PFRA (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration) was commissioned to investigate all the major works in the EID in the belief that both the Bassano Dam and the Aqueduct would be likely candidates for replacement.

The Bassano Dam was found to be sound, requiring only major rehabilitation rather than actual replacement. This did not hold true for the Aqueduct. After construction of the immense earthen replacement canal, the Aqueduct was to be demolished and the land reclaimed.

Destruction was prevented only by the last minute intervention of the new management board and the federal Minister of Agriculture. Recognizing the danger of allowing the structure to deteriorate of its own accord, the government of Canada, the province of Alberta and the District cooperated to fence it for public safety at a fraction of the cost for demolition. It remains as a monument to those who built and operated Canada's most successful irrigation system, and to an era of development that changed the face of Southern Alberta.