Floating Ideas: Durango Set to Begin Debate on Controversial Boat-Park Issue

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lurango Herald Online T Du t 0 E , kNG Mataii) loating Ideas .. set to . -. debate on controversial boat-park issue 9bruary 12, 2006 y Dale Rodebaug h I Herald Staff Writer Page 1 of urango officials are set to enter the controversial statewide recreational -water debate Monday when they host the first of three meetings )ncerning the construction of a boating park on the Animas River. Boating park meetings The city of Durango has scheduled three meetings related to the - onstruction of a boating park on the Animas River near downtown. Two locations - at Smelter Rapid, where a white -water course now axists, and at Schneider Park at the Ninth Street Bridge - are being considered. The meetings will nclude: -A presentation by the park designer starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave. Two locations for controlled flow are being considered for a white -water course: Smelter Rapid near Sani Rita Park, where kayakers have competed for years; and at Schneider Park, near the Ninth Street Bridge "A lot of residents are interested in the river," Cathy Metz, the city parks and recreation director, said last week. "We'd like to hear their opinions." The boating park, designed to handle all water craft, requires a man -made structure in order to petition a water court for a Recreational In- Stream Diversion, an authorized flow of water. As the popularity of whitE water recreation has surged, requests for court- granted flows have caused run -ins statewide between boating interests and traditional water users. The issue has reached the state Supreme Court. Durango officials surveyed the Animas River for a boating park site from the 32nd Street Bridge to the intake of the Animas -La Plata water project below Smelter Rapid, Metz said. The chosen location will have boulders grouted in place in- stream and along the banks to channel water. The mid - channel Ninth Street Bridge abutment would be modified so as not to collect debris or obstruct water craft. Casey Lynch, a member of the Animas River Task Force, a group interested in the long -term health of th river, said there is good and bad about each site. -A City Council study session A park at Smelter Rapid could stabilize a stretch of river that is pummeled by heavy runoff, he said. A pai starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City at the Ninth Street Bridge is attractive if a proposed underpass beneath Camino del Rio made the area Hall, East 10th Street and East readily accessible to the downtown. But fisheries in that stretch of river must be protected, Lynch said. Second Avenue. The city employed two consultants for the project. Scott Shipley of Recreation Engineering and Planning -The regular City Council meeting of Boulder designed the courses. Gary Thompson of W.W. Wheeler and Associates of Englewood at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at City Hall. performed a hydrology study that included the availability of water, how much water is required for white- water sports and water rights of upstream users. Shipley will open the meeting Monday with a description of the courses. Thompson will not attend. o one knows how much water - measured in cubic feet per second - the city would ask from the water court, Metz said. Thompson recommended flow varying from 185 cfs to 1,800 cfs at Schneider Park and from 185 cfs to 1,400 cfs at Smelter Rapid. The flows correspond to the natural flow the Animas - high in summer from snowmelt, low in winter. letz said the estimated construction cost of the approximately 1,600 -foot Schneider Park course is $444,238. Construction of the approximately 50 -foot Smelter course is estimated at $244,694. The Schneider project is more expensive because of the width of the Animas at that point, she sid. According to other white -water park operators, a boating park requires little maintenance, Metz said. he city has paid Shipley's firm $19,700 for consultation. The Wheeler consulting fee was $24,000. ity officials have been discussing a water park for a year, Metz said. Wherever the course is installed, a permit from the federal Army Corps of ngineers is required. The city also has discussed the boat park with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Animas -La Plata Water Conservancy istrict and the Southwestern Water Conservation District. ara Hellige of the Corps of Engineers said Thursday that she has talked to the city about the boating park in conceptual terms. She will attend onday's meeting. ttp : / /www. durangoherald. comlasp- bin 1printable_article_generation. asp ?article _path= /news1061news0602 l 2... 2/13/200