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SUMMIT COUNTY - With a mid-August water court date looming, Silverthorne and Denver Water are trying to work out their differences on the town's application for a recreational water right on the Blue River.
Silverthorne wants to ensure adequate flows for rafting during the three big holiday weekends, as well as summer-long flows for a whitewater kayak park.
"What we're trying to do is make sure our ability to store and maintain water in Dillon Reservoir is not affected," said Bill Bates a Denver Water resource engineers.
"We're trying to work out a consent decree without a trial," said Silverthorne town manager Kevin Batchelder. The town tried to design its application to minimize impacts to existing water rights. he explained.
Denver Water's rights are senior in any case, and the town could only exercise its recreational flow rights in years when plenty of water is available.
"We couldn't pull it off every summer," Batchelder said.
At issue are so-called recreational in-channel diversions (RICDs), a relatively new form of water right used by towns and other entities to ensure adequate flows for whitewater kayak parks. The State Legislature passed a 2006 law aimed at clearly defining recreational flows, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board has been trying to establish a framework to administer the law.
Still, some of the applications have been controversial, based on their potential to affect future development. RICD critics have said, for example, that Golden's recreational water right could limit upstream towns like Idaho Springs from making future claims for domestic water.
Denver Water, which has filed a formal objection to the Silverthorne's application, is concerned that the recreational water right could affect the timing if its releases downstream into the Blue River and to Green Mountain Reservoir.
At issue is whether the water released from storage is part of the "natural flow" that's available for the the town's claim, Bates said.
A new interim operational policy for Green Mountain Reservoir could require increased releases from Dillon Reservoir, Bates explained. Denver Water may want to hold more water in Dillon to meet those requirements, he said.
"We want to get assurances from Silverthorne that these RICDs don't interfere," Bates said. "If we can come to an agreement with Silverthorne we would most likely drop our case," he said, adding that Silverthorne's claims are not "outlandish."
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
Silverthorne wants to ensure adequate flows for rafting during the three big holiday weekends, as well as summer-long flows for a whitewater kayak park.
"What we're trying to do is make sure our ability to store and maintain water in Dillon Reservoir is not affected," said Bill Bates a Denver Water resource engineers.
"We're trying to work out a consent decree without a trial," said Silverthorne town manager Kevin Batchelder. The town tried to design its application to minimize impacts to existing water rights. he explained.
Denver Water's rights are senior in any case, and the town could only exercise its recreational flow rights in years when plenty of water is available.
"We couldn't pull it off every summer," Batchelder said.
At issue are so-called recreational in-channel diversions (RICDs), a relatively new form of water right used by towns and other entities to ensure adequate flows for whitewater kayak parks. The State Legislature passed a 2006 law aimed at clearly defining recreational flows, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board has been trying to establish a framework to administer the law.
Still, some of the applications have been controversial, based on their potential to affect future development. RICD critics have said, for example, that Golden's recreational water right could limit upstream towns like Idaho Springs from making future claims for domestic water.
Denver Water, which has filed a formal objection to the Silverthorne's application, is concerned that the recreational water right could affect the timing if its releases downstream into the Blue River and to Green Mountain Reservoir.
At issue is whether the water released from storage is part of the "natural flow" that's available for the the town's claim, Bates said.
A new interim operational policy for Green Mountain Reservoir could require increased releases from Dillon Reservoir, Bates explained. Denver Water may want to hold more water in Dillon to meet those requirements, he said.
"We want to get assurances from Silverthorne that these RICDs don't interfere," Bates said. "If we can come to an agreement with Silverthorne we would most likely drop our case," he said, adding that Silverthorne's claims are not "outlandish."
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
