Colorado Struggles to Define Rules for Recreational Water Use

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Colorado Struggles to Define Rules for Recreational Water Use Page 2 of 3 Customer Service state." YOUR PROF r: a Review Profile But the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which oversees water use E -Mail Options Log Out throughout the state and has not dealt with recreational water issues, has said most minor requests for recreational water use and submit its finding to the that the flow the judge permitted is available only nine days a year and that the Text Version allocation is too great. million in business last year, up from $89 million in 1995, according to the E "In a semiarid state, you've got to have adequate water," said Dan McAuliffe, deputy director of the conservation board, which could appeal the ruling to the State Supreme Court. "We're seeing limitations in the future with more growth or if there is a prolonged drought." This spring the state enacted a law requiring the board to review all but the most minor requests for recreational water use and submit its finding to the water court judge hearing the case. Water sports are an industry in Colorado. River rafting alone generated $122 Ep million in business last year, up from $89 million in 1995, according to the E Colorado River Outfitters Association. t the i R ated While the main tourism draw in Golden is the Coors brewery also known # # Over for its water use — the water park brings in an estimated $2 million to $3 i invest million a year. * *24/7s In another legal battle over water, the issue is not quantity but location. 3 A rancher in Gunnison, Colo., is suing a rafting company whose boating tours cross his property. At issue is the right to float. In Wyoming, New Mexico and other Western states, the law gives the public a clear right to use rivers and streams recreationally as long as they enter them from public land. �'Earro The law in Colorado is not clear on this point. A law enacted in 1977, a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in 1979 and a 1983 opinion from the Adi state attorney general have in part contradicted each other. As a result, each List your r side has interpreted the law in its own way, with custom holding that boaters NYTimes. can float or paddle through private property as long as they do not touch the riverbed or banks. Post a Jot file://C:\ WINDOWS \Temporary %20Intemet %20Files\ Colorado %20Struggles %20to %20Defin... 7/6/01