Projects by Discipline / Engineering
Anderson Ditch Diversion Rehabilitation
The Anderson Ditch is a significant irrigation feature in the city of Boulder, Colorado. It diverts water from Boulder Creek at the mouth of the canyon on the west side of the city and carries it southeast through the city, passing through residential neighborhoods, crossing the historical Columbia Cemetery, irrigating the University of Colorado campus and ultimately delivering water to Baseline Reservoir and to a return flow point on South Boulder Creek.
As part of a previous project for the Anderson Ditch Company to reconstruct the headworks and to line a segment of the ditch, it was determined that the in-stream portion of the diversion was in need of significant repair. A detailed inspection of the concrete diversion weir revealed that the top two feet of the structure were failing and would soon be nonfunctional.
Hydrosphere's role in the project included:
- Structure inspection
- Identification and evaluation of rehabilitation options
- Design of new in-stream structural diversion incorporating a fishway
- Construction phase engineering
Hydrosphere was retained by the ditch company to perform a feasibility study to rehabilitate the ditch. The study recommended a new concrete control weir and a sloping, grouted, boulder wedge anchored to the sound concrete of the existing weir.
The new Hydrosphere-designed diversion structure, pictured below, also contains an integrated, fully roughened pool/chute fishway to permit upstream fish passage and downstream navigation.
