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<br />Supreme Court, State of Colorado (Appeal from District Court, Water Division No. 4, Case No. 02CW38) <br />Case No. 04SA44: Colorado Water Conservation Board v. Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District <br />Answer Brief ofthe Colorado River Water Conservation District <br />The intended purpose of the appropriator is therefore a key factor in determining the <br />appropriate flow rate of an RICD, just as the intent of the appropriator is important for determining <br />the measure of any other type of water right. Sante Fe Trail v. Simpson, supra at 53, 55. <br />2. The minimum flow for a reasonable recreation experience can vary <br />substantially, based on the type of recreational use sought by the appropriator <br />who will put the water to beneficial use. <br />The water court is in the best position to determine if the intended purposes of a claimed <br />RICD are reasonable, and whether the amount of water claimed is the minimum flow rate to serve <br />the intended purposes. As with any other type of water right, the appropriate flow rate must be <br />viewed in light of the amount necessary to achieve the intended purposes of the appropriation. The <br />flow rate far the Gunnison RICD will necessarily be different than the flow rate for an RICD on a <br />different stream, appropriated by a different entity. The issue is inherently fact specific and will vary <br />depending on a number of factors, including: (1) the specific purposes sought to be achieved by the <br />entity appropriating the RICD; (2) the natural characteristics of the stream channel in which the <br />artificial control structures will be placed; and (3) the natural hydrograph of the particular stream. <br />Even though the appropriate flow rate may vary from one RICD to another, and may even vary <br />within the same RICD, the flow rate decreed to an RICD must not exceed the minimum flow for the <br />specific recreational activity sought by the appropriator. <br />in the current case, the Upper Gunnison District appropriated a range of flows in the shape <br />of the natural hydrograph (but well below the peak flows of the natural hydrograph), in order to <br />attract expert boaters throughout the runoff season. The evidence at trial showed that low flows in <br />Page 13