The Lowhee ditch was constructed as part of the hydraulic mining boom in the Cariboo region in the early twentieth century. In this process, high-pressure water was directed at a cliff (like a water cannon) to break up sediment and wash it into a slurry, allowing miners to look for and remove gold.

This ditch is over 16 km long, having been built over three years by labourers in three camps. Exact specifications were given for the ditches. They were typically 7 feet (2.1 metres) wide at the top of the higher elevation of the ditch and 4 feet wide (1.2 metres) at the bottom. Elevation dropped 9 feet (2.7 metres) over one mile (1.6 km).

Men dug the ditches by hand and with dynamite. Solid rock was blasted away and ravines were crossed with elaborate wooden trestles to shorten their route. By keeping the water high on the mountain, it would be at a higher pressure when it reached the mine, where it created hydraulic pressure by diverting it into a pipe down to the mine site.

Many mountains in the Cariboo region hide at least one of these forgotten feats of construction. The Lowhee Ditch, high above Williams Creek, was one of the most complex. The line of the ditch is still visible due to the perfect grade that extends for many kilometres through the bush. Old equipment, pipes, and structures are also still present.