The lower part of the woodstave section is now encased in concrete.

Community consultation found a strong preference for refurbishment using the existing machines plus a new woodstave pipeline rather than the use of new machines or a steel pipe.

A woodstave is a narrow length of wood ("stave") with a slightly beveled edge to form the sides of barrels, tanks and pipelines, originally handmade by coopers.

Water was to be provided by a small dam on the Great lake at Miena, which would then divert water down the steep drop using a woodstave pipeline and a flume.