Projects

Lake Kathleen Dam Siphons

Brutus, MI

As a part of the Conservation Resource Allience's mission to restore the natural flow of the Maple River in Emmet County, the Lake Kathleen dam was slated for removal. However, record high water levels posed a challenge. The drainage area was of significant size in relation to the capacity of the lake, which posed a major risk of lake level rising above the temporary cofferdam.

Gosling Czubak designed a temporary water lowering system, a system of six 24" diameter HDPE siphon pipes, which moved water at a rate of 80,000 gallons per minute. The siphons were able to draw down the lake prior to construction of the cofferdam, which not only gained additional storage capacity for storm events but also reduced the cofferdam spillway drop from 14' to 7'.