In 1910, San Francisco attorney Alva Udell came up with a novel approach to tap Eagle Lake without the aid of a tunnel. Udell proposed to tap the lake at the north end, only a mile from then Troxel’s residence (better known to many as Stones). The intention was to build a dam on the lake and a canal leading over to the Willow Creek springs. This route, it should be noted, is the lowest division separating Eagle Lake from the headwaters of Willow Creek.
Of course, like all the proposals before and after Udell there was the issue of money and how to raise the funds to make it a reality. It was Udell’s contention that there was not enough private lands in the Honey Lake Valley to make it feasible. To overcome this hurdle Udell stated it would need government funding. In 1916, he turned his project over to the Honey Lake Valley Irrigation District, which is another story for another time.