During the late 1800s with all the proposed irrigation/reclamation enterprises in the Honey Lake Valley, flumes to convey water was not considered. On the west slope of the Sierra, flumes were numerous used primarily for logging and mining.
The first flume in the region was built in 1861 to furnish water power for the Milford Flour Mill. One of Captain C.A. Merrill’s grandiose plans for Eagle Lake called a for flume to transport logs to his proposed town of Belfast.
In 1895, James Branham built a flume on the north side of the Susan River just below Hobo Company to convey water to power his small electric plant. It was a short-lived operation that shut down in 1910.
Up north to the mining community of Hayden Hill, saw the use of flumes. The town had problems with the lack of water, though on the other hand some of the mines had problem with water in their diggings. The Lassen Mining Company built a flume to divert water from Willow Creek to Hayden Hill.