WINTER PARK — Denver Water is set to bury a water pipe at Winter Park Resort, which is part of the water utility’s Moffat Collection System.
The system is fed by tributaries of the Upper Williams Fork and Fraser rivers.
The pipe, called Siphon 1, is a prominent pipeline at the base of Winter Park Resort that was installed in 1936 and transports water into the Moffat Tunnel and then to South Boulder Creek.
“Anybody who remembers skiing Winter Park remembers that pipe,” said Winter Park Resort spokesman Steven Hurlbert.
“We are happy that the Denver Water Board has come up with a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing way to move their water,” Hurlbert said.
The pipe’s age and exposure to the elements are making maintenance a growing challenge, said Stacy Chesney, a Denver Water spokeswoman.
Denver Water plans to remove about 1,100 feet of the steel siphon and replace it with a buried pipe of the same size.
The pipeline sits on National Forest Service land, and the Forest Service supports the Denver Water Board’s efforts to replace the aging system, said Craig McGwire, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests district ranger.
The project is scheduled to be complete in late October, weather permitting, Chesney said.
The project is expected to be completed before snowmaking operations begin at the resort.
