It's a wrap at Whitewater Park – for now
Crews forced to quit work early due to unseasonably high flows

by Missy Votel

For boaters chomping at the bit to test their skills on the new Smelter, the wait is over. Construction crews packed up shop Thursday after unseasonably warm weather and high run-off made it no longer feasible to work in the river. Crews were originally scheduled to work on the Whitewater Park four more days, according to Scott Shipley, owner of S2O Designs, which built the park in 2014.

“This is the highest run-off for this day in 60 years,” he said.

Shipley said crews plan to return in the fall to finish the work on Corner Pocket and Clocktower.

He noted that the work taking place upstream of Smelter, to reroute water back to the City’s water intake, was undertaken by the City under the direction of John Brennan and other members of the Animas River Task Force.

In order to make up for the 8-foot drop in the river at that section and get the water to reach the intake, the city built two riverwide weirs. While the drops look imposing at low water, Brennan said the idea is that, with higher flows, they will fill in, creating a wave train to the main Smelter drop. Work also included building a grouted chute down the middle of the upper part of the rapid and adding a fish ladder on river right.

“It’s really a blessing in disguise,” he said of the high flows. “This gives us a chance to see how the design works and come back and tweak things if we need to.”

He said overall, he is pleased with the results so far. “People wanted a longer and harder Smelter rapid, and now they have it,” he said. “And the work upstream has caused Corner Pocket and Smelter to stand up more, so Corner Pocket won’t be so violent.”

And everyone’s favorite, Ponderosa, was said to be surfing better than ever.