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<br />" DenverPost.com - News: Colorado and Denver <br /> <br />Page 1 of 3 <br /> <br /> <br />ABOUT US/HELP <br />ARCHIVES <br />BUSINESS <br />CLASSIFIEDS <br />COMMUNITY <br />DISCUSSION <br />ENTERTAINMENT <br />LIFESTYLES <br />MARKETPLACE <br />NEWS <br />~Co'umbine <br />~Columnists <br />~JonBenet Ramsey <br />~Legislature <br />~National News <br />~Obituaries <br />-Politics <br />~Stadium <br />-World News <br />OPINION <br />PROMOTIONS <br />SPORTS <br />WEATHER <br /> <br />DPO MAIN <br /> <br />-I <br /> <br />SEARCH OPO: <br /> <br /> <br />Em.ail Us <br />OP0 <br />Tn e Den....e r I=bst <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />The Women's College at the" <br />U niversit}T of Denver <br /> <br />Water war pits Golden vs. state <br /> <br />By ~Hit~J~.!JU9Jl <br />Denver Post Staff Writer <br /> <br />/~ <br />~\ Related articles <br /> <br />Feb. 12, 2001 - GOLDEN - This town's <br />beautiful new kayak course on Clear Creek, already the site of <br />top-notch competitions including a nationai championship, has <br />sparked another kind of battie: a modern-day water war pitting <br />a state agency against the economic interest of one town. <br /> <br />At its core, the battle is a power struggle over who controls the <br />water. But it aiso threatens to pit drinking-water needs against <br />recreational interests and lucrative tourist sites against each <br />other. <br /> <br />What has spurred the fight is Goiden filing to get set "instream" <br />fiows to maintain the viability of the kayak course, known as a <br />recreational right. Though recognized as a valid right under <br />Coiorado water law, such recreational requests unnerve <br />traditional water users such as farmers and cities, who need <br />the water to feed the ever-increasing demand for home use. <br /> <br />Upstream towns such as Georgetown, Idaho Springs along with <br />the Loveiand Ski Area, Ciear Creek County and others have <br />objected to Golden's proposal. They fear that Golden's right <br />wouid impinge on their ability to get water rights for future <br />needs. <br /> <br />The Coiorado Conservation Water Board - charged with <br />maximizing the use of the state's creeks, streams and rivers - <br />isn't sure that allowing the amount of water Golden now wants <br />from Clear Creek, for boating is the best idea, particularly in <br />the summer. <br /> <br />"The question is how much water do you need to have for a <br />recreational boat chute, and is Golden's claim ... good water <br />utilization," said Dan McAuliffe, deputy director of the water <br />board. "We think they are asking for too much water to do a <br />boat chute." <br /> <br />The board on Tuesday is scheduled to discuss a proposal that <br />would require cities wanting such rights to first get water board <br />approval. <br /> <br />But Goiden counters that the water board is making a power <br />grab, and the city's recreational claim is wrongly being used "to <br />strike fear into state legislators," said Glenn Porzak, Goiden's <br /> <br />http://www.denverpost.comlnews/news0212a.htm <br /> <br />2/12/2001 <br />