Littleton debates fate of historic City Ditch flumes as Englewood moves to pipe ditch

Littleton City Council on April 22 discussed options for two deteriorating steel flume structures that carried the Englewood City Ditch across Slaughterhouse Gulch and a Legal‑area gulch, after a structural assessment found heavy corrosion, missing anchors and undermined foundations.

The council session considered costs and liability as Englewood prepares to pipe sections of the city ditch downstream. "Both decks were corroded and leaking," said Ryan Germer Roth, deputy director of Public Works, summarizing the consultant’s findings and the safety concerns identified in the assessment.

Why it matters. The flumes are visible remnants of the city ditch infrastructure that once supplied irrigation; their fate raises competing priorities for Littleton: preserve a piece of local history, avoid long‑term maintenance liabilities and limit the city’s capital exposure. Staff presented cost estimates ranging from a modest cost if Englewood removes the structures as part of its project to about $300,000 to repair a single structure in place,…