When the Pawnee Watershed Joint District No. 1 noticed a galvanized culvert in Burdett, Kansas, was rusted out, they teamed up with KLA Environmental Services and Eakin Enterprises to replace it before major erosion occurred. Without this project, there was risk of total dam loss due to the rusted overflow pipe throughout the dam.
The team had to take caution working with the body water and under flow into the stilling basin. The team faced several rain and water issues, as the pond filled up multiple times. The team had to drain it by pumping some water out to get it far enough down to work. They did not want to drain the whole body of water as the dams help the water table with major crop irrigation. To combat this, the team excavated the stilling basin and set rip rap along the bank and then set a new pipe riser for the new overflow pipe.
Currently, the project, which was funding through grants Pawnee Watershed Joint District No. 1 received, is 100% usable. The new pipe is expected to last at least 150 years. While the reservoir is down, the overflow pipe is anticipated to work as expected when rainfall hits.
“We just need to get some rain to fill these reservoirs up to their max potential and we would feel great,” Brock Eakin, project manager with Eakin Enterprises, said.
Location: Burdett, Kansas
Cost: $327,000
Size: 12 acres
Owner: Pawnee Watershed Joint District No. 1
Designer: KLA Environmental Services
Contractors Eakin Enterprises
Manufacturers: Volvo, Bobcat, Cat, Komatsu and Mack
