Hydrosphere Resource Consultants

Projects by Discipline / Engineering

Vail Golf Course Diversion Structure

 

Hydrosphere was retained by the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District and the Vail Recreation District to assess the system of ponds and irrigation water delivery on the Vail Municipal Golf Course. A diversion structure on Gore Creek near Vail, Colorado provides water supply for irrigation and for a system of ponds on the golf course.  Our evaluation of the existing rubble rock diversion structure, shown below, determined that the structure was inadequate to divert the water supply needed to meet irrigation demands and to maintain desired water levels in the ponds. The clients asked Hydrosphere to design a new structure and other system improvements for the diversion and headworks.

Project Features:   

  • Evaluation
  • Design
  • Construction cost estimation
  • Preparation of bid documents
  • Construction oversight
  • Diversion flow measurement
  • Data collection

We designed the new structure to have the appearance of a natural drop in the river, constructed of natural rock.  The sloped, arch-shaped boulder drop structure has an upstream concrete cutoff in the same location and basic configuration as the original structure. A preformed plunge pool and armored tail-out riffle were included to permit fish movement upstream and navigation by boaters. We oversaw removal of the old structure and designed the new headworks to be a concrete/grouted rock structure with a main headgate conveying up to 5 cfs to a Parshall flume and a smaller sandgate sending water and sediment back to the creek. The new 12-inch throat Parshall flume with automated flow measuring and recording conveys water into a new, buried, elliptical reinforced concrete pipe, which in turn conveys flow into the pond system. Ancillary design items included three new, circular reinforced concrete pipe connections between the ponds and a new gate structure in one of the ponds.


Hydrosphere managed the project construction, including construction cost estimating, preparation of bid documents, construction oversight and construction inspection.  The new, completed diversion structure is shown below.