The issue of stream access highlights a basic tension in Colorado’s laws and values: Are rivers just another category of property that can be privately owned and fenced off?
Tag: RICD water rights
Posted inWater
Low river flows trigger calls, closures, stressed fish
But this summer’s lack of precipitation and low soil moisture were the main drivers of dry streams.
Posted inWater
When flows are low, river recreators seek out new allies and avoid making enemies
But unlike officials in other Colorado communities, Craig officials have so far chosen not to pursue a water right to support this new recreation amenity.
Posted inWater
Colorado communities have spent millions of dollars on whitewater parks. Are they worthwhile?
RICDs have expanded cultural perceptions of how Colorado’s water is best used, and water for recreation is now an acknowledged beneficial use of a public resource.
Posted inWater
Colorado has unique protections for river recreation, but do they have enough legal muscle?
A RICD does not necessarily improve river conditions for recreational water users, but it makes sure they don’t get worse in the future.
Posted inWater
Recreation groups ask for more inclusion in state Water Plan
In the Colorado water world, recreation usually is lumped together with the environment as a “non-consumptive” use since both seek to keep water in the stream. But signatories to the letter say that grouping overlooks the importance of recreation to the economy.
Posted inWater
Stream management planning watered down by agriculture
That divisiveness reveals the tension between traditional water users like agricultural producers, who take water out of the rivers, and recreational and environmental water advocates, whose goal is to keep water in the river.
Posted inWater
Glenwood Springs secures water right for whitewater parks
Cities have long dictated water policy, even as river recreation represents a growing segment of the state’s economy.
Posted inWater
Groups try again to secure water for recreation
The proposal is an attempt to carve out a spot for — and recognize the importance of — Colorado’s outdoor-recreation economy in the hierarchy of water uses, which prioritizes the oldest water rights, usually belonging to agriculture and cities.
Posted inWater
Conservation groups want recreation water right tied to natural river features
Water rights for natural river features would represent a shift in a state where putting water to “beneficial use” has traditionally meant taking water out of the river for use in agriculture or cities.