2020 WAVE MODIFICATIONS
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June 4, 2020 video update
Diagram showing winter 2020 wave feature modifications.
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CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
June 4th, 2020 Surf's Up! Our 2020 wave modifications are complete! A big thank you to River Restoration and Diggin’ It River Works for their hard work adjusting the waves this past winter and spring. Boaters have been enjoying the park since late March and we are looking forward to seeing the waves respond to different river flows. Please be safe out there: Keep in mind that the park is unsupervised and requires skill and equipment to enjoy safely. Personal floatation devices are required, and we strongly recommend wearing a helmet and cold-water clothing.We also recommend scouting the waves before running them. This winter’s modifications created new ways to bypass the waves, but they should always be approached as powerful hydraulics that change with the river’s flow. If in doubt, get out and SCOUT! Scouting and Access: The best place to scout the waves is from the whitewater park access path along Two-Rivers Road. Down-river boaters can scout by eddying out at the Fisherman’s Park boat ramp. The ramp is on river right immediately after the Highway 82 bridge. From Fisherman’s Park, take a short walk down Two Rivers Road to get a good look at the waves. Please respect the park’s neighbors by accessing and scouting the waves from the Two Rivers Road (river-right) side ONLY. There is NO public access to the whitewater park from Emma Road (river-left) side of the river. Support your river by sending your pictures! Did you know that every time you use the park you help us maintain a massive water right that is critical to the future health of the Roaring Fork River? It’s a terrific way to give back to your river. So, throw down on those foam piles and send us your smiles on Instagram @pitkincountyhealthyrivers. |
PRESS RELEASE
January 14, 2020
Winter 2020 Wave Modifications Underway
Thanks to input from the community, Pitkin County will be making a few changes to the Healthy Rivers Whitewater Park in Basalt this winter.
In 2019, Healthy Rivers sought public comment on the whitewater park experience through an extensive outreach campaign. Though many park users reported enjoying the wave features, the river board also heard from those who felt the features make the river difficult to navigate at high water.
“The goal of this winter’s work is to strike a better balance between the fun surfability of the waves and their high-water navigability. The end result will be wave features that are a bit easier for river runners to bypass at high flows,” said Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Board Chair, Andre Wille.
Healthy Rivers worked with consultants at River Restoration, the whitewater park’s original designers, to create plans for revising the wave features. Diggin’ It River Works, Inc. will construct the changes.
The in-stream work is estimated to begin in mid-January and wrap-up by March 15th with streambank restoration finishing later this spring. Construction is permitted to occur Monday through Saturday between the hours of 7am to 7pm.
For safety reasons, the river channel from Fisherman’s Park through the project site will be closed to all public use for the duration of the instream work. The streambanks immediately adjacent to construction will also be closed to public access while work is underway.
The whitewater park’s success remains critical to maintaining Pitkin County’s Recreation In-Channel Diversion (RICD) water right that protects critical in-stream flows from being diverted out of the Roaring Fork River in the future.
According to Wille, “The key to maintaining the RICD water right is being able to prove the community enjoys the wave features. That’s why this fine-tuning is so important.”
January 14, 2020
Winter 2020 Wave Modifications Underway
Thanks to input from the community, Pitkin County will be making a few changes to the Healthy Rivers Whitewater Park in Basalt this winter.
In 2019, Healthy Rivers sought public comment on the whitewater park experience through an extensive outreach campaign. Though many park users reported enjoying the wave features, the river board also heard from those who felt the features make the river difficult to navigate at high water.
“The goal of this winter’s work is to strike a better balance between the fun surfability of the waves and their high-water navigability. The end result will be wave features that are a bit easier for river runners to bypass at high flows,” said Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Board Chair, Andre Wille.
Healthy Rivers worked with consultants at River Restoration, the whitewater park’s original designers, to create plans for revising the wave features. Diggin’ It River Works, Inc. will construct the changes.
The in-stream work is estimated to begin in mid-January and wrap-up by March 15th with streambank restoration finishing later this spring. Construction is permitted to occur Monday through Saturday between the hours of 7am to 7pm.
For safety reasons, the river channel from Fisherman’s Park through the project site will be closed to all public use for the duration of the instream work. The streambanks immediately adjacent to construction will also be closed to public access while work is underway.
The whitewater park’s success remains critical to maintaining Pitkin County’s Recreation In-Channel Diversion (RICD) water right that protects critical in-stream flows from being diverted out of the Roaring Fork River in the future.
According to Wille, “The key to maintaining the RICD water right is being able to prove the community enjoys the wave features. That’s why this fine-tuning is so important.”
PREVIOUS 2020 CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
1/14/2020 |
2/20/2020 |
3/18/2020 |
HOW THE PARK
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HISTORY OF THE PARK
Public planning
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Wave construction
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Wave adjustments
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WHAT'S IN A WAVE?
WATCH AND FIND OUT!
We documented the original 2016-2017 construction of the whitewater park through a series of videos.
8/24/2016 |
9/1/2016 |
9/23/2016 |
9/30/2016 |
10/5/2016 |
10/20/2016 |
12/5/2016 |
12/12/2016 |
1/9/2017 |
2/2/2017 |
3/15/2017 |
6/5/2017 |
