Sometimes you can’t win for losing. Or at least that is how it seems to the Pueblo Paddlers upon the postponement of the Ice Breaker Rodeo & Boat Demo that was scheduled for Saturday April 21st in the Pueblo Whitewater Park.
First a little background.
Just after the beginning of the year the Pueblo Paddlers submit a list of event dates to the city and the city’s board of water works. This is done so that if there is a way to get any additional water moved through the park the board knows when it would be most beneficial to paddlers for recreational use.
Originally the board said that the dates should be outside the dates of normally high river flows because at those times there would be no need to supplement river flows. The board also claimed, through the city attorney, that flows could be as high as 1000cfs for events at the park through this procedure.
Unfortunately with such a large number of players in the mix and with water rights being at a premium in the Arkansas River Valley, it has never quite worked out that way.
Last year’s additional flows at event times were at the low end of what was hoped for, but each time the board of water works said that it was the best that they could do and the events would just have to go on with the water that was available. The promised 1000cfs flows have never materialized during any of the events outside the Memorial Day to Labor Day window other than when mother nature has added water to the river.
This brings us to recent events. The Monday prior to this year’s Ice Breaker & Rodeo the Pueblo Paddlers were notified that there wouldn’t be any additional water available and that the 250cfs that was in the river was about the extent of what could be expected for the event.
Upon hearing this the Pueblo Paddlers postponed the rodeo not wanting to be in the position of having boaters travel to Pueblo to compete only to find minimal flows. The group wanted to make sure that when they held an event that boaters didn’t go away from it shaking their heads because of a lack of water.
In the meantime a storm upstream spiked the flows that were coming in to the Lake Pueblo. According to the water board the gatekeeper at the Pueblo Dam was on vacation and the person taking his place was unfamiliar Colorado water law which mandates that flood waters not be stored. This surge of water remained in the reservoir until someone discovered the mistake and began releasing the flows into the river Friday.
The flows quickly rose to 529cfs and continued at that level until Sunday when the gates were dialed back and flows were once again reduced to what was naturally in the river upstream of the dam.
Through this cruel turn of events there was enough water in the river on the date of the event however it had already been rescheduled, and will now be piggybacked on the May 12th Arkansas River Festival.
The Pueblo Paddlers were also informed that it would be difficult to provide any additional water for recreational use outside of the Memorial Day to Labor Day time frame. Unfortunately this message comes AFTER three of four events put on by the paddlers have been scheduled outside that window. It would have been helpful if this would have been brought up when the dates for events were submitted to the water board in February.
Hopefully this turn of events will lead to better communication between those who control the water and recreational users downstream for future events. Only time will tell.
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