February 21, 2008
Repairs Made to the Mathews Drop Dam

Photo provided by Ken Dixon, County Building Director Mathews Drop Structure

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

Water is flowing over the Mathews Drop dam in the Meadow Valley Wash near Panaca after repairs were made in the past week.

County Road Maintenance Manager Steve Chouquer said at the February 19th regular meeting of County Commissioners that fill had been placed around the edges of the concrete structure to stop water from flowing around the dam and causing further erosion. Chouquer said his crew, working into the early morning hours, plugged a hole on the west side, which was allowing water to go around and under the concrete structure. The clay-like material that came from above the structure, “really repels the water,” When the ground dries out sufficiently crews will go back and “make a more permanent fix,” he said.

County Building Director Ken Dixon praised Chouquer and his crew for the fine work they did. “There’s water shooting across that dam the way it is supposed to right now, probably six inches deep all the way across,” he said.

Dixon said if the County crews had not fixed the dam when they did, following the recent heavy rains and snowmelt, “We would have had a big ditch to fill all the way around.”