This Week: 5 - ORCHARD COMMUNITY GARDEN 7 - ART WANDER 8-9 - GOVERNMENT REPORTS 12 - TECHNOLOGY 14-15 - REVIEW & OPINIONS Your nonprofit
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Volume 18, Number 20 | June 25-July 1, 2026
The dirt on Dinkle Photos by Bob Rugile Text by James Steindler
A
s reported in Scuttlebutt on June 4, Dinkle Lake will remain drained (not completely empty, after all) through August. The Sopris Sun took a jaunt to check it out, and was surprised to see little trash (the team was hoping to find some treasures) turned up at the base of the lake that is clear of water. Although, a few relics, mainly old beer cans, were spotted.
Even the old rope swing and platform, which was inarguably quite dangerous even during a good water year, seemed to have been removed from its age-old placement on the edge of the quakies. The Sun didn’t find it, anyhow. Turnabout Ranch and Big 4 Ranch of Basalt, which hold the authorization for Dinkle Lake, according to the Forest Service, are footing the bill for repairs to the interior of the dam to prevent further seepage issues and line the reservoir. Alpine Excavation workers Branson Simpson and Andrew Kingen (pictured above, left to right) at the site on Friday, June 19, estimated that the work would be done in a matter of weeks. And, despite the hot temps, neither have taken a dip in the water that remains. For historical context, a natural lake preceded Dinkle, according to White River National Forest Service Public Affairs Officer David Boyd, but was augmented in 1918 with the dam and a ditch. The last time work was done on the dam was 2010. When asked if people could still swim and recreate in the little water that remains, Boyd said that the area is open but people are to avoid the construction zone and park in designated areas.