Laserfiche WebLink
<br />.\ II. Summary Of Selected Technical Criteria For Artificial Whitewater Courses <br /> <br />The following technical requirements have been relied upon by course designers in the <br />evaluation and design of artificial whitewater slalom courses: <br /> <br />e) <br /> <br />· Typical length is between 240m (790 ft.) and 400m (1310 ft.) for international <br />whitewater slalom races. <br />· Hydraulic drop: the minimum hydraulic drop for an international quality site is <br />3.5 m (11.5 ft.). A hydraulic drop of just 1.5 m (5 ft.) is adequate for a site of <br />"local merit." <br />· An acceptable flow rate for an international quality site is 10 m3/sec. (350 cfs). <br />A flow rate at 2 m3/sec. (70 cfs) is adequate for a site of local merit. There is a <br />relationship between flow rate and the amount of hydraulic drop available at a <br />site, in that generally the greater the hydraulic drop, the less flow rate <br />necessary to obtain whitewater features. <br />· An average flow velocity of 2m/sec (6.6 ft./sec) is recommended. <br />· A water depth of 0.15m (6") is the minimum depth needed to float a boat, but in <br />order to take paddle strokes, 0.5m (20") depth is needed. To safely perform an <br />Eskimo roll, 0.8 to 1.0 m (3 to 3.3 ft.) is required. <br />· The minimum width recommended is 5 m (16.5 ft.). This allows a 2-person canoe <br />to safely turn sideways. The minimum passable width of 1.2 m (4 ft.) is possible <br />provided that it is a local constriction only and not consistent for the entire <br />course. Debris and safety issues may preclude a narrow width of 4ft. from being <br />realistic. The maximum boating course width should USe the streamflow as <br />efficiently as possible. <br />The minimum hydraulic head of 3.5 m (11.5 ft.) is driven by the need to provide <br />reasonable rapids throughout the length of a whitewater slalom event. A high quality <br />play boat and rodeo competition site can be created with significantly less head <br />provided that there is available discharge in the range recommended as the RICD flow <br />rate. <br /> <br />The CWCS will review the proposed boating course length on a case-by-case basis for <br />appropriateness with respect to feasibility and intended use. The typical length <br />described above applies to slalom boating courses, however the CWCS recognizes that <br />recreational opportunities can be created for play boating or rodeo purposes via the <br />construction of two or more structures that may span a relatively short length of the <br />stream. A good example of this type of recreational opportunity exists at the <br />Confluence Park boating venue on the South Platte River located in the heart of Denver. <br /> <br />12 <br />