Bypass Provides Water for City During Dam Repair

1,000 feet of pipe carries water to meet worksite discharge requirements.

BACKGROUND

The City of Durango, CO, receives its water from the Florida River. The dam feeding the river had a faulty bulkhead door which needed to be replaced. In order to replace the bulkhead, the water flowing into the river would have to be stopped, which would in turn cut off the city’s main source of water. To keep the river supplied with water, a bypass would be required to move water from the reservoir, up and over the dam.

OUTCOME
Rain for Rent engineered and installed a bypass system using two 6” pumps, one primary and one back up, and over 150’ of aluminum Victaulic pipe to move water over the dam. Due to worksite restrictions preventing water from being freely discharged into the spill way, 1,000’ of pipe carried water from the top of the dam downstream into the river.

HIGHLIGHTS
Pumps were ferried by barge to the pump-in-place location, and set up within a very limited space on the shore behind the dam.
The bypass system pumped 1,350 GPM and enabled the city to maintain an uninterrupted supply of water.
Rain for Rent worked safely to overcome environmental obstacles including high elevations and steep slopes with challenging footing.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
The project is currently ongoing as of March, 2017; the customer appreciates the engineering support Rain for Rent provides and said that the pumps, customer service, and people – especially the install team – have them looking forward to a continued partnership with Rain for Rent.

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