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PHYSICAL INFORMATION <br />The west portal of Adams Tunnel, originating in Water Division 5 District 51 in Grand County, <br />is submerged at the east end of Grand Lake. Adams Tunnel terminates with the east portal in <br />Water Division 1 District 4 in Larimer County, discharging into a small reservoir on the Wind <br />River. <br />Excavation from the East Portal began June 23, 1940, just southwest of Estes Park. Work went <br />on simultaneously from both the east and west portals. When the two crews met June 10, 1944, <br />they were off by less than the diameter of a penny. On June 23, 1947, the first water from the <br />Colorado River flowed east through Adams Tunnel. From the beginning, water transported <br />through Adams Tunnel has been used for power generation, irrigation, domestic, municipal, and <br />industrial uses. <br />Adams Tunnel is a circular bore with a <br />diameter of 9 feet, 9 inches. Once a year the <br />Tunnel is shut down and USBR engineers drive <br />a specially designed Jeep through to inspect the <br />Tunnel. Improvements are made on an as- <br />neededbasis. <br />The West Portal inlet to Adams Tunnel is <br />submerged in Grand Lake. There is a 20 acre- <br />footreservoir at the East Portal of Adams <br />Tunnel on Wind River from which water flows <br />into the Aspen Creek Siphon. From here water <br />flows through Rams Horn Tunnel, into Marys <br />Lake, through the Prospect Mountain Tunnel, <br />into Lake Estes, and eventually down the Big <br />Thompson River. <br />k <br />~~ ~ . <br />~. <br />]]] 1$,w, <br />d ~ -~ a~, <br />'~ , ~ : ~ <br />r <br />~~' „, _ <br />~ ~ .~teaa ~ <br />y 3' , - <br />_ -fir w, <br />East Portal of Alva B. Adams Tunnel <br />Encased in an inert nitrogen gas filled pipe and suspended from the top of Adams Tunnel is a <br />69,000-volt cable carrying energy produced on the east slope to the west slope. Hanging <br />adjacent to the power cable is a fiber optics line used to communicate operational information <br />between the East and west slope. <br />Length: 13. lmiles <br />Capacity: 550 cfs <br />Diversion Measurement Device: Outlet of small reservoir on the Wind River and inlet to Aspen <br />Creek Siphon in Larimer County. <br />DWR WDID: 5104634 <br />USGS ID: 09013000 -Alva B. Adams Tunnel at East Portal, near Estes Park, CO <br />(August 1947 -September 1996) <br />AdamsTunnel.doc 4 of 9 <br />