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<br />. .' <br /> <br />The Salida, Boating Park <br /> <br />Background <br />, . <br />I have a long history with paddling in and around Salida on the Arkansas River. I <br />paddled there often "growing up and haye raced in the now famous First ID Boating, ARKansas <br />(FffiARK) kayak races almost every year since my first entl)' at the age of 19. This event, the <br />success of other boating parks, and the popularity of paddling on the Arkansas led the City of <br />Salida to look into avenues for improvements to this stretch of the river. <br /> <br />, Two Structures were built in the Arkansas River. The first structure, the Upper Hole,' was <br />designed and built under a contract with the City in phase I of the project in 2001. In this initial <br />phase deflectors, ~tial bank improvements and soniC? wbitewater f~ were installed. The <br />second drop structW'e, the Lower Hole, was built in the second phase, which my firm was <br />contracted to do in 2003. In,this phase a second holelwave feature was installed and an.extensive <br />trail systeM, bank terracing and park rehabilitation project were undertaken. The finished ~ <br />was an exteDSivewbitcw~ter p,ark th8t was integrated with doWDtown Salida, with a number of <br />dvemont businesses, and that served as a significant attraction to visitors to Salida. Both the <br />Upper Hole and Lower Hole structures are designed to divert and control flows above 1800 cfs. <br />" , , <br /> <br />The design for the park took into account many users with a variety of needs. "The City <br />of Salida was looking for a way to create a tourist attraction and to integrate this attraction with <br />downtown business. The toUrists who visited. were a mix between in-stream users and people <br />who visited the park to paddle and those who came to watch and to play in and around the water. ' <br />All of these needs had to be accommodated in tJte park. In addition, the design needed to <br />accommodate a wide variety of in-stream users that spanned the gamut from very inexperienced <br />to expert level. The current design has features for all of these users and has been well receiv~ <br />by ~ levels ofvisitoJ'S and is currently used by bc?th commercial and private boaters~ <br /> <br />'Approprlatene.. Of Reac~ <br /> <br />The CWCB, in their' document Recreational In-Channel Diversion ("RlCD") Policy <br />Regarding Technical Criteria (2003), states that a reach of stre~ is appropriate 'for a whitewater <br />park if the Power Index (p.I.) is gre~ter than 75. The Equation for determining the P.I. is shown <br /> <br />as: <br /> <br />PJ.= Drop . Fl~.IOO <br />Reach <br /> <br />The Salida'Boating Park drops 2.06 feet over a reach of approximately 365 feet., Using <br />Equation 1, the Power Index, for the Salida course is 113 at 200 cfs. The P.I. is 1016 at 1800 cfs. <br />The PJ. clearly exceeds 75 ,~t all flows'between 200 and I~OO cfs. <br /> <br />-4- <br />