Winnipeg has relied on the lake as its source for safe drinking water since the aqueduct was put in service in 1919 at a cost of nearly CDN $16 million.

[4] Access by maintenance staff to the aqueduct has been provided by the Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway, also operated by the City, since 1916.

[5] In April 1899, the City of Winnipeg purchased the plant of the Water Works Company for $237,650, making it a municipally-owned and operated utility.

The commission engaged the services of a group of engineers which, on 29 August 1907, submitted a report that recommended the City to go to the Winnipeg River for its future water supply.

At this time, the City was undertaking the building of a hydro electric generating station at Pointe du Bois and was committed to the expenditure of a large sum of money.

In January 1913, a series of meetings was held between Winnipeg and several municipalities in the surrounding region, who reached an agreement on draft legislation to form a metropolitan water district.

[7][6] This resulted in the creation of the Greater Winnipeg Water District (GWWD), incorporated by an Act of the Manitoba Legislature, assented to on 15 February 1913.

[8] The project was carried out as outlined in the engineering report with the addition of a 250 million gallon reservoir at Deacon (about eight miles east of St. Boniface), a second 5-foot 6-inch pressure pipe from Deacon to the Red River, and a booster pumping station on the east bank of the Red River capable of delivering 50 million gallons per day to the reservoirs at McPhillips Street.

The first work to be undertaken was the building of a 110-mile (180 km) railway, including siding and spurs, a telephone line, clearing and fencing of the right-of-way, and completion of the Falcon River diversion.

On 29 March 1919, water from Shoal Lake arrived at the McPhillips Street reservoir and distribution to the City of Winnipeg began on 5 April 1919.

This station allowed the District to fully develop the capacity of the existing works and to increase the flow to the City of Winnipeg from 30 to 42 million gallons per day.

On its way to Winnipeg the aqueduct and railway pass through East Braintree, McMunn, Hadashville, Spruce, Larkhill, Monominto, Millbrook and Deacon stations.

The conduit was built using the "cut and cover" method with an unreinforced concrete arch resting on a cast in place base invert.

Initially the aqueduct terminated at a reservoir built on McPhillips Street, which had been the center of the city's original water system.

It is named after Thomas Russ Deacon, who as Mayor of the city drove efforts to secure the Shoal Lake water supply.

[8] It was established in 1913 as a collaboration between the City of Winnipeg and its neighbouring municipalities, who decided to invest CA$13.5 million to access Shoal Lake.

In January 1913, a series of meetings was held between Winnipeg and the municipalities, who reached an agreement on draft legislation to form a water district.

This price was at first based on the cost of maintenance, operation, and management; the Greater Winnipeg Water District Act provided that interest and sinking fund charges should be levied on land only.

Any surplus from sales was used to reduce the annual level based on the findings on an equalization board The District also operated a railway service between St. Boniface and Shoal Lake, and a sand and gravel business.