NORWOOD – Although the San Miguel County Commissioners expressed concern over the proposed location of a white water play park on the San Miguel River next to Applebaugh Park in Placerville, the general consensus was that the San Miguel Whitewater Association should move forward with plans in creating a whitewater park somewhere on the San Miguel.

A Wednesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting in Norwood, San Miguel Whitewater Association (SMWA) President Bob Gleason presented plans to build a whitewater park along the river banks at Applebaugh Park. The park would include three features, creating recreational opportunities for river users of all types – rafters, fishermen and, especially, kayakers.

“We are in a county that is driven by recreation,” Gleason said. “There is a lot of interest in our town and it fits our culture we have here.”

Gleason described what it would take to create such a park where kayakers could play and “surf” in holes. First, he said, there must be a constant flow of the river. Second, a diversion would be constructed to “take the flow and squeeze it.” Third, he said, there needs to be an obstruction or “keystone, or some sort of rock that water would spill over.” And fourth, there must be gradient – “the more pitch, the more you have the effect.”

Wednesday wasn’t the first time Gleason and the SMWA met with the county to propose a whitewater park near Applebaugh Park. Previously, the commissioners suggested that areas other than Applebaugh Park be looked at for the park. The so-called Winnebago Corner (just downstream of Placerville) was suggested as well as the river corridor near the Specie Creek boat ramp.

“We looked at Winnebago Corner,” Gleason said. “We could have nice construction and it has good gradient. It is a place we could talk about, but the river-left side of the area is private property.”

Commissioner Joan May corrected Gleason by telling him that the river-left side of that area is public land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Still, nonetheless, Gleason told the commissioners that Applebaugh Park is most suitable for his proposal.

“We keep coming back here because it has so many positive aspects,” he said. “It is close to town. We have good flow and gradient. It is below Fall Creek so we can have a water level that is higher and more consistent. There are already complimentary facilities. We have a playground right there and there’s parking.

“We feel that the park is a bit underutilized at this point,” he added.

The design concept of SMWA’s proposal would make a water feature or play-wave just below the current BLM put-in, which is just upstream of Applebaugh Park. This, Gleason said, would be the “number one spot” where the more advanced kayakers would spend most of their time. Two other features would be constructed downstream and would be designed for novice kayakers, “a good place to teach kids about this stuff.”

Kayakers would exit the proposed park just downstream of Applebaugh’s banks where a few boulders would be installed to create an eddy that would make exiting the river an easy task. Knowing that the county has painstakingly spent a lot of money trying to repair Applebaugh’s river bank riparian habitat, Gleason said a series of eddies would be created on the river-left side of the park where those “swimmers,” who eject out of their kayaks for any reason, could safely swim to the bank of the river without damaging the river-right riparian habitat.

According to Gleason, cost estimates to build such structures in the river cost anywhere from $20,000-$30,000 per structure. The estimated total cost of the water park is approximately $180,000. Construction will include adding boulders and “as much natural material” as possible to hold the boulders and structures in place. In some areas where the flow is greatest, mortar or concrete will be used to ensure the structures are not taken out.

Gleason told the commissioners that the BLM believes the park should be done as a county park and that the SMWA is prepared to carry the liability umbrella on behalf of the county.

One of the most compelling reasons to build the park, Gleason said, would be possible water rights the county could gain by building in-stream recreational structures through the state of Colorado.

After Gleason’s presentation, the commissioners were generally supportive of the proposal.

“We are a recreation community,” Commissioner Art Goodtimes said. “The water rights we could see is a major opportunity and it is one way to maintain the flows of the river. I still feel concern about this site. I could see this area get over utilized very quickly. I like this idea a lot, we still may need to work beyond this site. We have to move forward on this.”

Commissioner Elaine Fischer questioned how the river’s different user groups, including commercial guiding, will work with the whitewater park.

“We need to look at that when we are thinking about this,” Fischer said. “For commercial users, will a monetary exchange occur? Those are the questions non-users are going to ask. I am not discouraging this thing from happening but how do we monitor these things?”

May also agreed that the project should move forward but at a different location.

“I do have major concerns about that site in the Down Valley Park,” May said. “Winnebago Corner, it is a couple miles further. Personally, that looks a lot more appealing. For now, I agree with Art that this is something that the boating community can use.”

The meeting concluded with the commissioners asking that SMWA, the San Miguel Watershed Coalition and the BLM to meet with the county again (tentatively scheduled for early June). The commissioners are also interested in getting comments on the proposal from the scientific community.

Watch this short video on a similar park in Truckee River White Water Park in downtown Reno, Nevada.