The City of Myrtle Creek Oregon needed upgrades to one of its surface water intake structures, in Umpqua River. The concrete structure in the river is what needed to be upgraded.

The plan was to isolate the area around the concrete structure from the rest of the river by diverting the flow to the other side.

Looking downstream just past the concrete structure.

First, a 3ft tall single closed end (SCE) AquaDam was installed upstream. The 3ft tall blocker dam diverted the river’s flow away from the 5ft tall main SCE AquaDam as it was installed.

Two 3-inch portable gas-powered water pumps supplied water from the river into the AquaDam, allowing it to build head, and forcing the bag to unroll slowly.

Workers made a turn midway across the river channel with the 3ft tall AquaDam. It is important that the workers only unroll enough length to keep the head in the AquaDam above the upstream water depth. This ensures that the AquaDam does not shift during installation.

When damming flowing water, the water upstream will pool and rise in depth. It is important to keep the body of the AquaDam above the surrounding water.

The 3ft tall AquaDam continues to fill with water, as workers monitor the roll end and the head that the unrolled length has.

Now the blocker dam has diverted enough of the flow from this area and workers can finish filling this AquaDam.

The 3ft tall blocker AquaDam was installed in an “L” shape configuration.

Workers are surveying the next AquaDam installation site, which will be used for de-watering.

A 5ft tall 11ft wide (full) 150ft long SCE AquaDam installed in a “L” shape configuration around the concrete structure. The 3ft AquaDam installed first, diverted the main flow of the river to the other side, easing the installation of the 5ft AquaDam.

The box between the two workers is a temporary pump that supplied potable water to a nearby town while the concrete structure was repaired.

The 5ft AquaDam was tied off to the end of the 3ft AquaDam to prevent shifting or rolling during installation.

The concrete intake structure has been isolated from the main body of water. Due to the slope of the riverbed, water flows out of the work area. No water flows into the work area because of the 5ft tall AquaDam.

On the right side is the starting bank for the 5ft tall SCE AquaDam. A SCE AquaDam requires a starting bank to keep its starting point (open end) higher in elevation than the body of the AquaDam. The open end and fill-tubes of a SCE AquaDam must stay elevated higher than the full height of the dam along its given path. An AquaDam will only reach its full height at the lowest elevation along its given path.

The 3ft tall blocker dam did an excellent job, notice the difference in ripples on the right and left.

Installing an AquaDam as perpendicular or square to the bank as possible is extremely important.

3ft tall blocker AquaDam is full of water.

3ft tall blocker AquaDam is full of water.

Overview from the opposite bank.

Overview of the 3ft tall blocker AquaDam that was to divert most of the flow.

Overview of the 3ft tall blocker AquaDam that was to divert most of the flow.

The 3ft tall AquaDam was heavy enough to divert most of the flow to the other side of the river, reducing pressure on the 5ft tall AquaDam.

Wonderful job AquaDam!