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ENLARGE
Socorro Castillo of RKR Excavating pours one of several hundred buckets of water into the pipe to create a siphon to begin draining Old Dillon Reservoir last Wednesday.
SUMMIT COUNTY — The water level at the Old Dillon Reservoir surprised observers by dropping nearly a foot within the first 24 hours after installation of a drainage siphon.
Following its annual inspection last month, state engineers deemed one of the earthen dams containing the 10-acre reservoir unsafe and ordered the Town of Dillon to drain all the water stored there.
When presented with the challenge of draining about 46 acre-feet of water as quickly and as efficiently as possible, Dillon town engineer Dan Burroughs suggested using a siphon mechanism to pull the water off passively.
“Dan again proved his value to the town,” Dillon public works director Eric Holgerson said. “He came up with the idea for the siphon, and it’s working great.”
With the assistance of Dillon-based RKR, Inc., town staff designed and constructed a siphon six inches in diameter and roughly 100 feet long. They placed one end about six feet under the surface of the reservoir and the other end extending down the existing outflow ditch.
Once primed, both the siphon’s valves were opened and water began flowing briskly downhill.
“We didn’t really anticipate how fast it would come out,” Holgerson said.
The water coursing through the siphon pipe runs about a quarter mile before it reaches the culvert under Interstate 70, eventually passing back into Salt Lick Creek on the Wildernest side of the highway.
Although it appeared stagnant to the casual observer, some degree of water flow has always been maintained in the reservoir, Holgerson said.
Water originating from the Salt Lick Creek typically flowed through the Dillon Ditch — and under the interstate — at a rate of about 1 cubic feet per second, with the outflow ditch running at the same rate.
Last week the town closed off the head gate to stop all inflow of water and installed the new siphon Wednesday. Within the first day, Burroughs estimated the outflow to be roughly 2.2 cfs.
If the flow continues at its current pace, Holgerson expects the siphon to run another week or so at the most. Once the siphon slows down, the remaining water will most likely require mechanical pumping. At that point the town will evaluate the drainage and determine its next step.
Dillon built the reservoir — located on the ridge between the Dam Road and Interstate 70 — in 1939 for use as its municipal water supply. Since the town relocated to its current site in the early 1960s, it’s been managed primarily as a recreation area.
Following its annual inspection last month, state engineers deemed one of the earthen dams containing the 10-acre reservoir unsafe and ordered the Town of Dillon to drain all the water stored there.
When presented with the challenge of draining about 46 acre-feet of water as quickly and as efficiently as possible, Dillon town engineer Dan Burroughs suggested using a siphon mechanism to pull the water off passively.
“Dan again proved his value to the town,” Dillon public works director Eric Holgerson said. “He came up with the idea for the siphon, and it’s working great.”
With the assistance of Dillon-based RKR, Inc., town staff designed and constructed a siphon six inches in diameter and roughly 100 feet long. They placed one end about six feet under the surface of the reservoir and the other end extending down the existing outflow ditch.
Once primed, both the siphon’s valves were opened and water began flowing briskly downhill.
“We didn’t really anticipate how fast it would come out,” Holgerson said.
The water coursing through the siphon pipe runs about a quarter mile before it reaches the culvert under Interstate 70, eventually passing back into Salt Lick Creek on the Wildernest side of the highway.
Although it appeared stagnant to the casual observer, some degree of water flow has always been maintained in the reservoir, Holgerson said.
Water originating from the Salt Lick Creek typically flowed through the Dillon Ditch — and under the interstate — at a rate of about 1 cubic feet per second, with the outflow ditch running at the same rate.
Last week the town closed off the head gate to stop all inflow of water and installed the new siphon Wednesday. Within the first day, Burroughs estimated the outflow to be roughly 2.2 cfs.
If the flow continues at its current pace, Holgerson expects the siphon to run another week or so at the most. Once the siphon slows down, the remaining water will most likely require mechanical pumping. At that point the town will evaluate the drainage and determine its next step.
Dillon built the reservoir — located on the ridge between the Dam Road and Interstate 70 — in 1939 for use as its municipal water supply. Since the town relocated to its current site in the early 1960s, it’s been managed primarily as a recreation area.
