Glenwood Springs Water Park
The next Glenwood Springs City Council meeting is February 3rd at 6:30, Glenwood City Hall, and will address the proposed whitewater park and the respective recommendations of the Rivers and Trails Committe as well as the Whitewater Park Committee. The City and the Committees have been bullied by the ownership of the Hot Springs Pool into moving the Park location about a mile downstream from the Two Rivers Park area location that was originally envisioned.
The Pool's concern is damage to the geothermal aquafer via disturbance of that stretch of river bottom. The concern is not rational and there is vast amounts of USGS data that validates the lack of risk to the pools hot spring flow. Anecdotally, the Grand Avenue Bridge has a pier going 50+ feet into the river bed, the large slab in the river was a former bridge that had piers as well. The pools take has been dictorial and full of ultimatums, even to the point of threatening unfavorable letters to GOCO, lawsuits, etc. They have presumed to prohibit even a study to determine risk to the aquifer. Ownership of the river bottom belongs to Glenwood Springs.
The concept of having the park upstream and near Two Rivers acomplishes a number of things: 1) Easy and legal access, 2) parking, 3)substantial space for audience and on lookers including a wide pedestrian bridge that would hover above the park, 4) central downtown location, 5) the esthetics that would encourage community above and beyond the kayak community.
The downstream location will be little more than another South Canyon. As it stands there would be limited to non-existent park and play access, no parking, no community involvement or opportunity to observe.
Please attend the Council Meeting on Feb. 3rd to either represent interest and/or to voice your objective opinion.
Thank you,
Greg Albrecht
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Just a side note but something i think is of importance is that the current location of the river is artificial. What I mean is the natural river bed lies where the pool is currently located. Several hundred yards of the river bed upstream of grand ave bridge was excavated to rout the water away from the current location of the pool. I am not sure but I would imagine this involved disturbance to to areas of the river that the current owners of the pool are fearful will ruin there precious resource. Which also a side note they stole from the city of Glenwood springs as acting city council members when the pool was offered to the city as a municipal pool. 
Anyway I think this old river project is of interest to our current cause. I will look into this more and be in touch with you Greg. 
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