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By Erin McIntyre s _ 11111 Al !;'yrlU!Ji1111 ii�IJ11J1I�111J V1 I To most people driving on U.S. Highway 50 west of Gunnison, the stretch of water just west of town near the Twin Bridges is just another fast - moving section of the Gunnison River. Even a trained eye might have a hard time telling that beneath the water's surface are hundreds of boulders strategically placed to make a whitewater park. On spring and summer aftern tourists might observe brightly ored kayaks bobbing in and out waves, and applaud Gunnison f recreation - friendly community. W not apparent to casual observer the hours invested in legal wra and community dialogue that wen building the park and obtaining water right necessary to give this a priority over some of the other f water uses in the valley. Outside of the courtroom and b the water board meetings, the resu this hard- fought battle beg the que How does the Gunnison communit about its new recreational hotspot? Making Sense'= By the time the park was built, of the community was in favor o project, says George Sibley, a prof at Western State College and organi the annual Gunnison Water Worksh oons, Sibley says many locals support - col- ed the whitewater park because they of the thought gaining a water right for the or its park assured that the water could not hat is be diverted to the Front Range. In the s are past, water developers have eyed the ngling Gunnison River basin for projects such as t into Union Park, a proposed 1.2 million acre - the foot reservoir. Although Union Park's park proponents lost a Colorado Supreme uture Court battle in 1998, when the court declared there was not enough water for be the project, many locals still fear losing Its of water to transmountain diversions. stion "Frankly, that was a major reason for y feel getting local support for it," says Sibley. "It assures the water will have to be in the river at least for that far." But not everyone in Gunnison agrees. most Rikki Santarelli, former Gunnison County f the attorney and commissioner, was on the essor commission when the county decided to zer of build the park on its own land, and sup - op. ported the effort. Now Santarelli feels that the park's water rights may actually hurt the valley in the long run by hindering resi- dential and other development upstream. He says if Front Range communities want water from the Gunnison Basin, a kayak park won't stop them because they have more political clout and money than the small mountain town. What the kayak park hinders, says Santarelli, is development in the Gunnison Valley that could benefit the community. "(The whitewater park) is kind of at the bottom of the valley," says Santarelli, who has some clients who are develop- ers. "So, everybody who wants to make any change in the water right above that kayak park has to come up with a way to augment the stream. Under Colorado law, junior water right holders are allowed to use water out of priority, but they must replace, or augment, what was used with the same quantity and suitable quality of water. An augmentation plan identifies how, where; Amd