Smelter Rapid Water Rights Bring Heated Debate

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Smelter Rapid water rights being heated debate. By Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer A possible request by the city of Durango for water rights at Smelter Rapid, a training ,ground for world -class kayak - ers, opened a ranging, spirited debate and left a lot of ques- tions Tuesday: ® How much of Animas River water is being used and who is using it? ® Who has a right to water? ® Are the rights of long -es- tablished users upstream in jeopardy if the city of Durango acquires water rights for recre- ation? ® How much water is enough for kayakers and rafters to have a good time on 600- meter Smelter Rapid? ® Is recreation as legitimate a use for water as irrigation or drinking? ® Would a collegial ap- proach to settle conflicting wa- ter demands be preferable to court battles? Probably the only undis- putable thing said at the four - hour meeting at Fort Lewis College appeared to be one of moderator Steve Harris' open- ing remarks. "This is not the last discus- sion on the topic," said Harris, a water engineer. "It's the first discussion." The meeting, convened to bring as many water interests as possible to one spot, opened with four presentations: ® Ted Kowalski, a legal pro- tection specialist with the Col- orado Water Conservation Board, explained the state's his- tory of setting aside water for special uses and particularly the recent effort of cities to ac- quire water rights for recre- ation. ®. Gary Lacey, an interna- tionally . known designer of whitewater parks, said the swelling popularity of white - water sports has reaped huge economic benefits for sponsors for a relatively small invest- ment. Limited water flow won't attract top competitors in the field, he said. ® Jack Rogers, director of public works for the city of Du- rango, said discussion of water rights for Smelter Rapid that started two years ago ran aground (a reference to ex- tremely low flow in the Animas at the time and lost tourism dri- ven way by the Missionary Ridge Fire). He said water in the Animas benefits many peo- ple other than kayakers. ® Ken Beegles, the state Di- vision of Water Resources engi- neer in Durango, said the Ani- mas River has no trouble sup- plying present users. But the sit- uation could change if the river is listed as "critical," meaning shortages become more than occasional. A state Supreme Court deci- sion on what is the minimum amount of water required for a reasonable recreational experi- ence would go a long way in determining how much water Durango could � acquire for Smelter Rapid. Kowalski's agency has just appealed an al- location of up to 1,500 cubic feet per second of water to the city of Gunnison to the high court. Fort Collins, Golden, Breck- enridge, Littleton and Vail ac- quired generous water rights be- fore the Legislature approved a bill that changed the law. Long- mont, Steamboat Springs and Pueblo also are seeking stream allocations for whitewater sports. Reach Staff Writer Dale Rodebaugh at daler@durangoherald.com.