Backpage: Aqueduct in Repair

Last December, DWR closed the California Aqueduct’s East and West Branches for repairs.

Along the West Branch near Gorman, as the Lower Quail Canal was being dewatered for routine inspection, the aqueduct’s concrete panels slid down the embankment. The movement caused substantial damage (photo above) to several panels near the upstream end of the canal. Probable cause was high ground water pressure coupled with the canal’s dewatering. Repairs were completed late February and cost about $3.8 million.

Another $3.1 million of repairs on the East Branch near Lancaster were completed in early March. Repairs were made to canal embankments that have settled over time and caused the lining to crack.

Routine inspections and repairs such as the two above are typically done during mid winter when water supplies are plentiful and deliveries can be made from storage supplies already on hand in reservoirs near the affected areas.
For more information on these repairs and other projects underway, visit the Division of Engineering’s web site at http://wwwdoe.water.ca.gov