The caretakers live in a remote home next to the reservoir, and drive through the narrow four mile-long tunnel, when it has low water, to get to Leadville. Glenn and Kim Schryver are the caretakers of Grizzly Reservoir, just east of Aspen. The H2O Radio MISSIONCreate programs that generate conversations about local, regional, and global water issues; educate about water efficiency and water quality protection; and inspire audiences to engage around sustainable solutions. Grizzly Creek flows into Grizzly Reservoir, built in the 1930s and primarily serves as the fore bay to the tunnel that Twin Lakes uses to divert water under the Continental Divide. The tunnel was bored during the first phase of the … THE CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATIONdedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge about how the nation's lands are apportioned, utilized, and perceived. The route outside the tunnel was snowed shut during the first week of March, when the Schryvers recorded 71 inches of snowfall at Grizzly Reservoir. Please help to keep us on the beat. Their job is to maintain the reservoir and the creeks that flow into it, as well as the 4-mile tunnel that sends the water east to the Front Range. On the south, water is gathered from New York Creek, Brooklyn Gulch and Tabor Creek, plus Lincoln Creek. Before us is the reservoirâaqua blue and sparkling in the morning sun. Tunnel No. The west portal or inlet of Tunnel No. Raise awareness about threats to water supplies in order to protect this most vital resource on which all life depends. Glenn agrees and notes that "It's about four miles long, straight as a gun barrel.". H2O Radio returned with Glenn and Kim Schryver, the caretakers of Grizzly Reservoir, back through the Twin Lakes Tunnel toward Twin Lakes, Colorado. An Astounding Hike, But Leave Early. Driving through the tunnel feels more like being in a boat than a car, and in fact occasionally Glenn and Kim see fish jumping in the few inches of water left along the bottom. In late June we had fields of wildflowers all the way to the top. The H2O Radio VISION Aspen, Colorado 121 contributions 34 helpful votes. Driving in it, it becomes immediately apparent that the tunnel is, in fact, a concrete pipe. Like this story? The aqueduct system diverts water from the New York and Brooklyn Creek drainages to the Grizzly Reservoir. The tunnel runs from what today is Grizzly Reservoir on the west side of the Continental Divide to North Fork Lake Creek on the east side. When Glenn is in the dozer, she's cleaning up behind him pushing snow off the sides of the mountain. Grizzly Dome Tunnel (Google Maps). In the late 1970s, municipalities were looking for water, so now the cities of Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Pueblo own most of the rights. They'll put those into use in the spring clearing roads that will be likely under snowdrifts at least nine feet deep. Itâs not that long before we see what we hope might be the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel," but it turns out to be a reflection of our headlights on one of the three tunnel gates, which allows water in from the reservoir. From the reservoir a tunnel carries the water under the Continental Divide to the Twin Lakes Reservoir. Every so often a big splash of water will smack the windshield from inlets in the ceiling that relieve pressure from springs up above. Concurrently, the farmers submitted more plans to the RFC to build the second tunnel from Lost Man and the main stem of the Roaring Fork to Grizzly Reservoir, which would nearly double the … © 2020 H2O Media, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. This is the Twin Lakes Tunnel, which begins on the west side of the Divide at the Grizzly Reservoir and dam. Tunnel inlet after breaking through into the reservoir, but before shaping up and installing the grizzly. This reservoir was created by a dam across Lincoln Gulch, a short distance downstream from a point at which Grizzly … This story is available for download at PRX.org and Audioport.org. Then about 200 acre-feet of water remaining in the reservoir was sent through the tunnel. An Astounding Hike, But Leave Early. 1, is in the area of State Highway 82 near Independence Pass. But as water was again sent east to the benefit of Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Pueblo West and Aurora, flows in Lincoln Creek and the Roaring Fork dropped sharply. In May and June it's pretty much impossible to drive through the tunnel because there's so much water they canât shut it off. . Grizzly Lake is glorious. Published: Nov. 13, 2017© Copyright H2O Media, LTD. Glenn says it was built by unemployed mineworkers and was an engineering triumph because they blasted it out from both sides, and when they met in the middle, they were only nine inches off from each other. Grizzly Reservoir Dam is a dam in Colorado and has an elevation of 10,541 feet. An electric-powered muck train leaves Tunnel No. They offer tours every so often and people are pretty amazed that there's not one pump in the whole system. Grizzly Reservoir and Twin Lakes Tunnel West Portal, Colorado [show on map] Two miles south of Independence Pass, another water tunnel sneaks invisibly under the Continental Divide. On the south, water is gathered from New York Creek, Brooklyn Gulch and Tabor Creek, plus Lincoln Creek. Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. They have to show due diligence on the water, proving what's coming in and where it's going, as well as how it's being used. Grizzly Reservoir, located about 8 miles up Lincoln Creek Road near the Continental Divide, is a component of the transbasin-diversion system. Grizzly Reservoir and Twin Lakes Tunnel West Portal, Colorado, All work on this site is licensed under an, Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Creative Commons License. 1, was completed in February 1937. 1, is in the area of State Highway 82 near Independence Pass. This tunnel, *826 called Tunnel No. ð§. Since then, the system has diverted up to 65,535 acre-feet in a single year. It's also a crucial linchpin in a very complex plumbing system of ditches, canals, and storage that transports water west of Coloradoâs Continental Divide east to thirsty cities along the Front Range. On Tuesday, the Twin Lakes Tunnel, which begins at Grizzly Reservoir on Lincoln Creek, was opened back up and about 200 cubic feet per second began flowing east, primarily from Lincoln Creek and the creeks in Brooklyn, New York, and Tabor gulches. When they first took the job in 2008, they used to go every day to drive their son to school. The tunnel runs from what today is Grizzly Reservoir on the west side of the Continental Divide to North Fork Lake Creek on the east side. This tunnel, *826 called Tunnel No. We've parked on the side of the creek and we're staring intently at the entrance to the tunnel that has a "No Trespassing" sign and a metal gate to keep the curious away. 1 … Portal Campground is a campsite in Colorado. Reach a junction with the aqueduct access road, an ugly scar in the valley, at 1.0 mile. Going east you can see the "light" at … Inflows to Grizzly Reservoir from Lost Man Creek; the Roaring Fork River; and Tabor, Brooklyn and New York creeks were re-directed out of their diversion canals and back into natural stream channels. Designer6905 wrote a review Oct 2016. They clearly love each otherâs company and the beautiful setting that they share. Share. • Water is conveyed from Lower Bucks Lake to the Grizzly Powerhouse and then discharged into Grizzly Forebay. Learn more. Read more. 1 in 1934. Operators are now cutting a drainage channel to divert the flows of Grizzly and Lincoln creeks directly into a diversion tunnel so they can inspect the damaged outlet works on the dam. Courtesy photo: / Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Co. A view of the recently drained Grizzly Reservoir. • Grizzly Forebay, with gross storage of 1,112 ac-ft, also impounds Grizzly Creek before the water is diverted into the Grizzly Forebay Tunnel (maximum flow capacity of 400 cfs) , which discharges into Bucks Powerhouse. This tunnel, *826 called Tunnel No. 1 is at the Grizzly Reservoir. But their garage door doesn’t open into a garage. Helpful. In late June we had fields of wildflowers all the way to the top. Setting aside the heated politics of moving resources from one basin to another, the conveyance of water under the Continental Divide is an engineering triumph, and in one case, for a couple living isolated in a high mountain valley, it's a "pipe dream" come true. ", Still, she and Glenn wouldnât trade their job for anything. The caretakers live in a remote home next to the reservoir, and drive through the narrow four-mile long tunnel, when it has low water, to get to Leadville. It cannot be broadcast or reproduced without the permission of H2O Media, Ltd. A map of transmountain diversions is available on the Colorado Division of Water Resources' web page. Helpful. Kim reviews logs every two hours and notes the water amount. 2, which runs for 9,300 feet under Green Mountain and transports water from Lost Man Creek and the Roaring Fork River to Grizzly Reservoir and Tunnel No. The project currently diverts 38,000 acre feet of water but has water rights to divert as much as 46,000 acre feet, annually. Masthead photo: Jamie Sudler, H2O Media, Ltd. Enjoy!! Before the Schryvers left home this morning they had to close a gate to stop water from flowing through the tunnelâan idiosyncrasy of their lifestyle that we're about to experience firsthand as we climb into their car to make the return trip. It is, of course, completely dark in the tunnel if Glenn were to turn off his lights, which we've been warned he does to humor nervous visitors. Despite advances in tunnel engineering and construction technology, hydraulic performance data for TBM driven tunnels remains relatively unavailable. At the Grizzly Powerhouse Project, the TBM driven water conveyance tunnel was designed using friction coefficients developed from … They'll spend their time measuring snowpack and repairing heavy equipment, like their bulldozer and front-end loader. Twin Lakes Reservoir Tunnel No. Glenn makes a hard left up a ramp and pushes a button to open his "garage door." You have to drive through a 3.8-mile tunnel underground (large enough to fit only a mid-sized pickup truck). Date of experience: June 2018. The dam was built in the 1920s and named Devil's Gate because of the rock formation's resemblance to Satan. And it's on the east side of the tunnel where my co-producer Jamie and I have arranged to meet them to learn more about their unusual job. Near the Continental Divide to the Twin Lakes tunnel, says Glenn once a week get. A component of the Divide at the Grizzly Reservoir and dam the Lake collects water from several in... 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