Case Study: Muscle Wall Stream Diversion

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September 16, 2026

Category Icon Hale Holdings
Case Study: Muscle Wall Stream Diversion

Project Details

Project Name: Lake George Dam Removal & Stream Restoration

Location: Lake George, Colorado

Date of Installation: August 2023

Contractor: FlyWater, Inc. & Naranjo Civil Constructors

Salesperson: Mick Pyle, Bowman Construction Supply

Application/Solutions: Muscle Wall used for temporary stream diversion

The Challenge

The Lake George Dam, a 25-foot-tall, low-head concrete diversion structure built in 1952 by Colorado Springs Utilities to divert water for municipal supplies, was an obsolete and abandoned dam. The U.S. Forest Service, Coalition for the Upper South Platte, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Colorado Springs Utilities and other partners collaborated on this project with the goal of removing the dam and restoring the stream to it natural state and processes.

Located on the upper South Platte River at the entrance of Eleven Mile Canyon, the project team needed a way to temporarily divert the river for the duration of construction.

Lake George Dam in the South Platte River Before Muscle Wall Installation
Muscle Wall 4’ walls set up, filled with water, and covered in a 45-mil reinforced polypropylene liner to create a stable channel for temporary diversion of the river.

The Solution

The team evaluated several potential diversion methods including, Sand Bag Berm, Pump, Lined & Muscle Wall.

The 4’ Muscle Wall was selected as the solution and used on this project for temporary stream diversion based on the following factors — cost-effectiveness, ease of installation, reduced maintenance and compliance risk, and smaller construction footprint.

Muscle Wall is a great solution for diverting water because it is flexible and can be installed to fit the terrain. The lightweight system can be easily deployed with a small team and without the aid of heavy equipment. It has a coupler-joint connection which allows each wall to securely connect with another and easily be reconfigured. Once connected, the Muscle Wall is filled with water to secure it in place and then covered in a diversion liner.

Products Used

– Muscle Wall 4’ (MW-103) Panels
– Muscle Wall Liner Clips
– 45-mil Reinforced Polypropylene Liner
– MIRAFI® Nonwoven Geotextiles

The Results

Pre-construction water control considerations were a key to this project’s success. More than 1,200 linear feet of Muscle Wall, combined with a 45-mil reinforced polypropylene liner protected by MIRAFI geotextiles above and below, effectively diverted the stream throughout the dam removal process, including challenging freeze-thaw cycles. The temporary Muscle Wall channel allowed the South Platte River to continue flowing as normal, while maintaining passage for fish and wildlife. Once dam deconstruction was complete, the Muscle Wall was emptied and removed from the site with no permanent damage to the surrounding landscape, and it can be reused on other projects. With the dam gone, fish can move freely throughout the system once again, natural sediment transport processes can occur, and the river can return to some semblance of its native, healthy state.

Post Construction — October 2024
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