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wo www o <br />Water -use wrangling is growing with the flow <br />By Theo Stein <br />Denver Post Staff Writer <br />Salida — Software engineer Tom Palka <br />likes to spend his lunch break catching a <br />wave in the town's whitewater park. <br />Through the wonders of telecommuting, <br />Palka collects a paycheck from a Boston <br />firm while he enjoys a renaissance pro- <br />pelled by Salida's decision to turn this <br />long - abused stretch of the Arkansas River <br />into a paddler's paradise. <br />"I can slide out the back of my house right <br />into the water," Palka said. <br />With out -of -state tourism now a $7 bil- <br />lion -a -year economic pillar — not counting <br />the millions more spent by outdoor -mind- <br />ed Coloradans — a number of mountain <br />towns are looking to claim some of the <br />state's overworked rivers for whitewater <br />parks. <br />Pushing upstream against entrenched <br />power brokers, communities such as Gold- <br />en, Vail, Breckenridge and Gunnison have <br />made headway in obtaining water rights for <br />recreation, sparking a debate over water pri- <br />orities. <br />Water developers fear that, if unchecked, <br />owners of kayak rights will be able to limit <br />development and cut off exports of water <br />to other parts of the state. Many feel that <br />residential, agricultural and industrial uses <br />should have greater priority. <br />"This is truly an example of the Old West <br />> See WATER on 4B <br />Paddle battle <br />Since the first modern whitewater course was installed in Boulder Creek <br />in the early 1990s, kayak parks have provided an important boost to mountain <br />economies. An increasing number of towns are looking to obtain water <br />rights to keep water flowing. <br />♦ Existing A Whitewater parks 0 Proposed <br />whitewater parks under construction whitewater park <br />Big Thompson River <br />Yampa <br />River ESTES St Vrain Creek <br />{ STEAMBOAT pg1K <br />:SPRINGS <br />Blue River LYONS LONGMONT <br />r BOULRER <br />; Boulder Creek <br />S,I'LVERTHORNE GOLDEN" r -: -Clear Creek <br />Gore Creek <.� Z 'Y DENVER <br />VAIL - '� I '' r� LITTLETON # Sou Platte <br />,�' Roaring BRECKEN'RIDGE River <br />Colorador r <br />Fork River— <br />River F AASPEN <br />® PALISADE t,I <br />*BUENA VISTA <br />Gunnison t'' * Arkansas <br />River ,A SALIDA River <br />GUNNISON l.. <br />PUEBLO <br />a7 Colorado <br />e j 0 Denver <br />r <br />p <br />Animas River - pgGOSA area <br />DURANGO*C ¢ SPRiNGS ;! <br />r -San Juan River .,moo., � ><,.�.� .�.. •�• �� <br />Thomas McKay I The Denver Post <br />