Liquid Asset: In Arid West, Whitewater Enthusiasts Contend for Water Rights

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■ r � A yg y H . My � -... .. .r.... .. Av ' 1 i t i h rp1" wTM,vx 1N�1 ED ANDRIESKI Associated Press SPLASHY DISPUTE: Paddling is an emergent economic force from California to Colorado, where rafters ride the Arkansas River. CONFLICT Liquid assL In the and West, whitewater enthusiasts contend for water rights. By HANNAH NORDHAUS southwest of Denver. A decade a staff attorney with Trout Unlim- for each paddle -park rights appli- Special to The Times ago the stretch of the river running ited. "But what an RICD right can cation it reviews, and it has lobbied Salida, Colo. through downtown was littered do is save what's left." unsuccessfully for a bill to cap rec- T'S not exactly Los Angeles with scrap concrete and cars. To- Yet that same year, the Colo- reational flows at 350 cubic feet per traffic, but a rush -hour queue day it is a destination for many of rado Legislature passed a bill im- second. Ted Kowalski, of the water of kayak- topped cars and the 300,000 paddlers and boaters posing new restrictions on cities board staff, said, "People are hold - school buses towing inflatable annually who visit a busy 80 -mile seeking in- stream flow rights and ing whitewater competitions at rafts crowds this Rocky portion of the Arkansas River to required that whitewater parks re- flows much lower than some of Mountain town, the hub of one of bob, flip and side -surf over stra- ceive only "the minim stream these pending [water rights] appli- the busiest whitewater destina- tegically placed boulders, hydrau- flow necessary for a reasonable rec- cations," and he added that the tions in the nation. lic holes and designer waves. Visi- reational experience." The ambigu- board is obliged to provide "the A main attraction along the Ar- tors pump more than $50 million ity of the law has spawned lay. *saits. ` flow for a `reasonable kansas River is a manmade water into the local economy per year. In Colorado and the West, the recreation experience,' not the `op- park where gyrating kayaks per- But the water parks not only idea that water left in a stream is timum' flow." form aerials as spectators watch revolutionized freestyle boating more valuable than water pumped Further, local officials continue from footpaths and terraces. Colo- technique; they roiled the preced- out of it is revolutionary. As more to play politics over the composi- rado has built more such places ent- choked channels of water law. and more water parks spread tion of the Upper Arkansas Water than any other state, and dozens of They need flow during summer, across the region, disputes like the Conservancy District. A federal others have popped up in Reno and when recreational use is highest, or one in Salida are inevitable, ex- judge last week filled a seat on the elsewhere in the West as towns in- else investments in water parks are perts say. district governing board with an of- stall them to enliven waterfronts worthless. And whitewater enthu- "That concept would have been ficial who favors recreation. and city coffers. In California, com- siasts who ply rapids outside Sali- impossible to understand, if not "The board members have been munities along the Feather, Kern da see the water park as an oppor- heresy, for the people writing the the classic good old boy ranchers and American rivers are consider- tunity to expand recreational early water laws in the 19th cen- or super - developers," says Chaffee ing building the parks. water rights far into the canyons. tury," Getches says. "At that point, County Commissioner Jerry Mal - Yet as these riffled play zones "You need a significant amount the way to serve the economy best let, a longtime boater. change the face of small-town USA, of water to create the water fea- was to divert water out of the Whitewater recreation advo- they are also shaking up water law. tures that are so attractive to so stream and put it to productive use cates charge that the state water It takes lots of liquid to generate many people who are boating, buy- on the land." board is pushing stream flows that the waves and holes that nimble ing beers after they're done, stay- In the new water war, the Colo- literally would not float a boat. kayaks require. And in the and ing in hotels and buying kayaks rado Water Conservation Board They say the water rights dispute West, where ranchers, growers and and gear," says paddle -park de- has challenged recreational stream on the Arkansas River is critical be- cities control seemingly every drop, signer Gary Lacy. flow levels in court and in the Legis- cause upstream cities, including whitewater enthusiasts are the Colorado became the first West- lature. The water policy agency is Colorado Springs and Aurora, are new guys contending for a big gulp. ern state to explicitly designate joined by agricultural interests and purchasing water rights to grow. "There is increasing recognition water rights for paddle parks when thirsty Front Range cities. "We lost the mines and had a big of the enormous economic force of in 2001 Golden, Vail and Brecken- "Really only the extreme kayak- economic depression. We lost the recreational water use," says David ridge won a case in the state Su- ing community wants to have real railroad that delivered to the Getches, dean of the University of preme Court. "Recreational in- high flows, and what that does to mines, and had another depres- Colorado School of Law. "States channel diversion" (RICD) rights the rest of us is prevent us from sion," says Mike Harvey, a com- must, as a matter of economic ne- protect manmade water parks moving water on the rivers," says petitive freestyle kayaker and ex- cessity, find a way to protect or al- against diversions that could re- Gerry Knapp, a water manager for ecutive director of the Arkansas low in- stream uses for recreation." duce flows during summer. Aurora, Colo. River Trust. "Now the resource is Nowhere is that more evident "You can't put water back into Meanwhile the state water the river, and we don't need to than in Salida, about 140 miles the river," explains Drew Peternell, board recommends smaller flows learn that lesson a third time."