WSP08186 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

-, 00\)386 . RIVERS AS A RESOURCE FOR BOATING . The season when boating can be done varies for each river, the main variable being streamflow. Use ~ be related to flow (for purposes such as minimum streamflow testimony), but is not in this report. Rafts take more water than canoes and kayaks; a water level of 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) may be suitable for kayaks on some rivers while a large raft might need 1,000 to 2,000 cfs. The amount of water necessary to make a run 'feasible is heavily dependent upon the profile of the streambed. A river course strewn with large boulders will require more water for navigability than will one with a fairly smooth riverbed. Many rivers have streamflow gauges painted on bridge pilings or river sidings which help users to identify optimum water levels. Some of these have been installed by the boaters themselves, wishing to know at a glance when the water is best for floating. On an unrestricted river, streamflow is largely dependent on spring run-off caused by melting snow in the surrounding mountains. On such a river, the end of the run-off also marks the end of the boating season, though local heavy rains can sometimes extend the river's useabi1ity into late summer, Some rivers, however, have a large enough volume that boating normally continues through September or October, as long as weather permits. In Colorado good weather oftentimes continues throughout the winter; it is not unusual to see paddlers on the South Platte in downtown Denver in February on a sunny day. Rivers in which streamflow is determined by water releases from dams and agricultural diversion projects sometimes offer use-seasons at varying . -5-