Man-made Lake Denton, located 45 miles north of Madison, Wisconsin, covered 267 acres and held more than 600 million gallons of water until June 9, 2009.  In about two hours, the lake was nearly drained after a levy gave way causing an 18 foot seawall of water to completely displace the existing 30" pipe down the river and creating a ferocious current as the water tumbled into the Wisconsin River 40 feet below.  The failure of the levy destroyed homes and dealt a blow to an important piece of the  Wisconsin Dells tourism industry, just as the high season was about to open.

In order to avoid further economic damage, plans were quickly put in place for the River Crossing Pipe Project.  The project was located 4 miles outside the city of Wisconsin Dells at the Water Treatment Plant and fortunately, the team at Clow Water Systems was able to manufacture and supply the necessary pipe for the project quickly. 

Four excavators and two bulldozers were used in a method of block and tackling the pipe on both sides of the river.  This method allowed for movement of the boom on the excavators in order to adjust the location of the pipe in either direction once floating in the river.  Metal I-beams were driven into the river bottom about 22 feet below the surface to stabilize the pipe and keep it straight in the current.  A floating barge was anchored to stabilize and move the pipe and provide extra safety.  An additional 45 feet of 30" Class 52 Super Lock pipe was added to each end after the pipe was submerged in the river and then reconnected to the out flow pipe coming from the Water Treatment Plant.

With a little help from Mother Nature, the project was completed in three days.

Portions taken from:  Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

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