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by taco_emoji 3756 days ago
The issue is that top of the dam is (way) over 30 feet above the water level behind the dam, which prevents the suction from overcoming gravity. A siphon won't work with that much of a rise in the middle no matter what the difference is between the elevations of the ends of the tube.

Also what you're describing is literally how all siphons must work--you can't siphon to a higher elevation.