Submerged vanes can be used to create sufficient depth for navigation, to mitigate bank erosion or to divert sediment away of lateral intakes. Besides these intended effects, submerged vanes also produce local scour, which may interfere with the intended morphological correction and which is relevant to the structural stability of the vanes. The present paper shows an experimental study that was executed in order to investigate the local scour that induced in front of the lateral intakes due to using a single row of submerged vanes to minimize the sediment that entered the intake channel. Sixty experiments were carried out using a single row of vanes, considering various vane heights, angles, and positions under different flow conditions. A case of flat floor without vanes was included to estimate the influence of the submerged vanes on the scour in front of the diversions. Obtained results were analyzed and graphically presented, and also provide simple formulas to compute the maximum scour depth in vicinity of the single submerged vanes at different flows entering the lateral intake.