In order to move water from up-country watersheds to gold mining camps, earthen ditches and wooden flumes were constructed.

Ditches and flumes were constructed with picks, shovels, and mules – it was hard manual labor.

These ditches and flumes had to be constructed with great precision for the water to flow property. Too steep of a grade and the water would erode the soil away; not steep enough, and the water would not flow at all.

In addition to flumes, small dams and reservoirs were built at Elephant Rock Lake, Summit Lake, and Duck Lake to control and store water.​