The Mancos Water Conservancy District will begin critical repair work on Jackson Reservoir's inlet drop chute in September.
The drop chute was damaged after the water in 4-foot-wide canal froze almost solid along a 200-foot section during the winter last year, seriously damaging concrete walls in the drop chute and basin at the bottom, Superintendent Gary Kennedy said.
The inlet is a critical piece of infrastructure because it is the only way to feed the reservoir, and if a concrete wall were to give in, it could be disastrous.
"If we lose the wall, we have the chance of losing that whole hillside," he said.
Before last winter, one wall was leaning in for about five years, but it became critical after the freeze.
The district doesn't usually run winter through the canal in the winter, but the board members decided to last year because the reservoir was so low after a dry summer, and the water level didn't improve when the fall rain.
The district approved a contractor to do the work for $16,000 for labor, and the superintendent estimates that the total project cost is likely to cost $26,000 including material. The district has the funds to complete the project.
The district also had plans to eventually put the entire chute into an enclosed pipe for safety reasons because as an open canal, a handful high school students and adults have illegally used it as a water slide. This is dangerous because of the large pointed concrete blocks that are in the bottom of the stilling basin.
"Luckily, we've had no injuries or deaths," he said.
The district has hired an engineer who is working on an engineering plan to enclose the chute. The board could choose to move forward with that improvement as early as next year; if not, more interim repairs may be necessary.