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The Steamboat Pilot: Many in South Routt County alarmed over water rights ~) U 12 G 3 PILOT .~ 7 ,TODAY . . Weather h." 140 Partly .~ Cloudy Current conditions 7 day forecast Community Calendars Reader Forum Groups & Clubs Find a new home Sections Front page Classifieds Public Notices News Sports Milestones Viewpoints Style Outdoors The Record Business Real Estate News Arts & Entertainment South Routt West Routt Education Women of Northwest Colorado Special Sections Election Results Election Coverage Wedding Guide The Venue Health Care Assistance Search Subscriptions Contact Advertising About the Pilot & Today . Page 1 of4 II Find your dream home in _... .'. t:tOcuY\h^~t' _. .' . I Real Estate I Reader Forum I Classifieds I Contact Archived stories ~. Email ~ Printe.. I'C.i!l Email I.c::::.I Story W:3 Friendly w:;;w Edito.. Many in South Routt County alarmed over water rights By Christine Metz. Staff Reporter SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2003 "YAMPA IS WILD" WAS ONCE a slogan found on bumper stickers stuck to the back of trucks and Subarus driving in Steamboat Springs. It's a slogan that City Councilman Ken Brenner would like to keep true, and its message is part of the reason he is pushing for the city to acquire water rights that would sustain the levels of the Yampa River. "We would be hard-pressed to find a river in the United States that is still as close to its original hydrographic flow," Brenner said. "(Recreational water rights) could mean a truly functioning river so that our children's grandchildren will see the river the way our grandparents did." The Yampa might be wild, but the struggle over who controls its water rights could get even wilder. The water rights the city is looking to file, which are classified as recreational instream channel diversions, have much of South Routt County alarmed. In October, the City Council stated its intent to file for water rights by the end of the year. That direction has not changed, City Manager Paul Hughes said Thursday. Recreational water rights would preserve in-stream water flows in the Yampa as it goes through downtown Steamboat, where the city has spent more than $100,000 in river improvements. Supporters of recreational water rights say it is a way to sustain river activities for fly fishing, tubing and kayaking, even when future development farther up the river calls for more water. Municipalities and landowners upstream fear a recreational water right for the city would place an immediate call on the river, limit any future growth and could cost thousands of dollars in legal fees. A call can occur when a senior right is invoked. Mike Holloran, who has practiced water law in Colorado for more than 30 years, said the city's filing for recreational water rights might have the same effect that growth caps had on Boulder. The Yampa River is under-appropriated, meaning the amount of water rights filed have never been enough to require a call on the river. If the city files for a water right that would be sufficient enough to keep its kayaking and tubing courses functioning through the summer, a great majority of the river's water rights would be taken, Holloran said. Existing water rights then become more expensive, and future growth becomes practically impossible, he said. http://www.steamboatpilot.comlsectionl archive/story/2043 8 !Story se. More se, ".''; ~ Marketpla Rea I Estat, I Condomini Autos: I Recreation Em 10 me Clerical Oft Rentals: I Homes More class Submit a ( Find a hon 11/28/2003