Silverthorne's Blue River Kayak Park Proposal Headed to Water Court

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LOCAL AND REGIONAL Silverthorne's Blue River kayak park proposal is now headed to water court ? ? ? ? ? 9 The town of Silverthorne will take its application for water flows to support a kayak park to water court this fall By NICOLE FORMOSA SUMMIT DAILY NE\VS FIZISCO - The town of Silver- thorne took a step forward Wednesday in gaining the neces- sary water flows to build a kayak park in a portion of the Lower Blue River that runs through the heart of town. The Colorado Water Conserva- tion Board indicated it would approve Silverthorne's applica- tion for a recreational-in-channel diversion (RICD), at #he conclu- sion of a seven-hour hearing in Frisco on Wednesday. The RICD calls for 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) to be diverted from the Dillon Reservoir to the Blue River during daylight hours from May to September. Additionally, the town has asked for 600 cfs during daylight hours for four days surrounding the Memorial Day, July. Fourth and Labor Day holidays. At least 90 percent of the desired flows must be available for the town to request the water. If it is able to secure water rights, the town hopes to con- struct a 1,000-foot whitewater course with three control struc- tures. The higher flows would also support a"park and play" wave for kayakers. While board members haveri t given a final nod yet, they are pre- pared to approve the application after some adjustments are made to the wording of the board's rec- ommendation to the water court. The next step for Silverthorne is to present its case in front of a water court this fall, when a judge will rule on the application. "That's the biggest hurdle," said Silverthorne director of pub- lic works Bill Linfield. Between now and then, the town will continue to work with the four entities - Trout Unlimit- ed, Denver Water Board, Summit County and the Colorado River Water Conservation District - that have filed objections to its application, in settling everyone's concerns. "If we can reach an agreement ... then taking it to a judge ends up being more like a rubber stamp," Linfield said. All four groups presented their issues to the board Wednesday. Representatives from every group, except for Denver Water, said they are close to reaching an agxeement with Silverthorne. Silverthorne has already reached concessions with the town of Dillon and Colorado Springs. One major sticking point with Denver Water is that it doesn't want Silverthorne's junior water rights to preclude any new request it may have in the future for more water. Denver Water engineer Marc Waage said population projec- tions for the Front Range indicate more water from the Blue River may be necessary to supply the demand in coming years. Waage also expressed some concern over Silverthorne's desire to work with Denver Water to schedule its release to Green Mountain Reservoir to coincide with Labor Day weekend to increase flows in the Blue. Denver Water pumped 500 cfs into the Blue River last Labor Day to repay water it owed to Green Mountain, thrilling boaters and boosting commercial rafting trips. "It was well-received and well- appreciated, but in the category of no good deed goes unpunished, it was also filed on by the town of Silverthorne as a basis for their request," Waage said. If the water court approves Sil- verthome's application, the town will begin to look at ways to fund the project, which is preliminarily expected to cost between $200,000 and $250,000, Linfield said. The very earliest the park could open would be next summer. Linfield estimates the town has spent between $30,000 and $40,000 so far on legal costs to obtain water rights. Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 229, or at nformosa@summitdaily.com.