Recreational Whitewater: Keys to Successful Management - Ben Nielsen and Rick McLaughlin, McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group, a division of Merrick & Company

1
Copyright © 2012 Merrick & Company - All rights reserved.
Whitewater
Management
CIVIL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
Recreational Whitewater:
Keys to Successful Management
Presented to
River Management Society National Training Symposium
Denver, Colorado
April 15, 2014

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Whitewater
Management
Course Objectives
1. Understanding of key manmade whitewater concepts
2. Familiarity with development of a whitewater project including key
phases
3. Understanding of common mistakes and lessons learned
4. Ability to effectively manage or participate in a manmade whitewater
project
“Shed light on what a recreational whitewater project is & who uses them”
“Provide a roadmap to developing & executing a whitewater project”

3
Whitewater
Management
Vernacular
 Recreational Whitewater – “Manmade, purposed to
provide passage, safety for river users, & recreation”
 Whitewater Park
 Boat chute
 Whitewater course
 Whitewater feature
 Wave or Hole
 River Park
 Bypass
 Park & Play

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Whitewater
Management
Multi-purpose River Infrastructure
Whitewater Park

5
Whitewater
Management
 Some Estimate over 500,000 Low Dams in the U.S.
 Many are so-called “Drowning Machines”
Dam Treatment:
“Survivable” Step Dam
Hazard Mitigation

6
Whitewater
Management
Recreation Impact Mitigation

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Whitewater
Management
Some are Pure Recreational

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Whitewater
Management
Integrated Objectives

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Whitewater
Management
Confluence Park
Project Funding - $70 m
 Public $ 55 m
 Private/Corporate 15 m
Cost to Date $ 70 m
Resultant Investment
 Coors Field $ 220 m
 Pepsi Center 175 m
 Invesco Field 350 m
 R.E.I. 35 m
 Six Flags Elitch Gardens 110 m
 Aquarium, Children’s Museum 120 m
 Residential Development 3 billion
Investment to Date $ 4 billion
Source: South Platte River Greenway Central Platte Valley Investment Summary (10/06)

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Whitewater
Management
Who Uses Whitewater River Parks?

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Whitewater
Management
Slalom

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Whitewater
Management
“Park & Play” Freestyle Kayaking

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Whitewater
Management
River Surfing

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Whitewater
Management
Origin
Myth or Reality?
Whitewater Projects are Driven by Business.

15
Whitewater
Management
Community
Municipality
Businesses
County, State, Federal Agencies
88%
12%
Origin

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Whitewater
Management
Planning & Public Process
Myth or Reality?
Desired outcomes are generally the same for whitewater
projects.

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Whitewater
Management
Site Selection
 Flow
 Drop
 Location & Access
 Constraints

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Whitewater
Management
Site Factor 1 –Available Flow
Reliability of flow is a also a key flow factors
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Discharge (CFS)
Grand River Hydrograph
Mean Monthly Discharge 1901‐2009
Source: USGS

19
Whitewater
Management
Site Factor 2 –Vertical Drop
Often Conflict between Developing
the Hydraulic Drop and Impacting
the Floodplain.

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Whitewater
Management
Site Factor 1 and 2 are Related
Reliability of flow is a also a key flow factors

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Whitewater
Management
Site Factor 3 –Adjacent Area/ Access
Whitewater Parks are
for Spectators!
Access for Hosting Events
may be a consideration

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Whitewater
Management
Stakeholders
 River Advocacy Groups
 Citizen Advisory Groups
 Users
 Citizens/public
 Business Owners
 Local Government
 State Government
 Federal Government
 Owners & Adjacent Property Owners
 Utilities

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Whitewater
Management
Public Process
 Project Goals
 Prioritize Objectives
 Concerns & Challenges
 Evaluate Identified Sites
 Select Preferred Project
“Stakeholder and Public Buy-in Through Collaboration”

24
Whitewater
Management
Batavia, Illinois
 Conclusion for public process – community didn’t want
project.

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Whitewater
Management
Outreach
 Provide clear & consistent messaging
 Social Media
 Website
 Press Releases

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Whitewater
Management
Mississippi Whitewater Park

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Whitewater
Management
Schedule & Budget
 Schedule – All Phases
 Budget – R.O.M. only

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Whitewater
Management
Planning Pitfalls
1. Key Planning Items Not Established:
 Goals/objectives
 Ownership
 O&M Long-term
 Schedule
 Budget
2. Too Much Planning

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Whitewater
Management
Funding
Myth or Reality?
Whitewater project funding mostly for recreation purposes

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Whitewater
Management
Hartland Boat & Fish Passage
 USFWS
 Colorado Water Conservation Board
 Walton Family Foundation
 National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
 Colorado River District
 Gunnison Basin Roundtable
 Trout Unlimited
 In-kind: Delta County
& Local Farmers

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Whitewater
Management
Private or private/public funding varies
Foundation
Public
Industry
Individual
$5,000 to $9,999
Richard and Patsy Fedrizzi
Stephen and Debra Hanks
George and Bev Harad
Jack Lemley
Bob and Kitty Looper
Bill and Betsy Moynihan
Ward and Cathy Parkinson
John Polischeck
Lori Shandro
$1,000 to $4,999
Mary Abercrombie
Clarence Anderson
Jo Cassin
Jim and Gayle Chalfant
Brian Ellsworth
Roy and Frances Ellsworth
Cynthia Fairfax
Frank Finlayson
John and Jane Francis
Sam and Andie Goff
In-kind

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Whitewater
Management
Funding Pitfalls
 “Shovel Ready” Projects
 Cost of Grants/Funding Sources
 Scheduling & Cash Flow Management

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Whitewater
Management
Design & Permitting
Myth or Reality?
Permitting is similar for most whitewater projects.

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Whitewater
Management
Design Development
1. Data Collection/Site Conditions
 Soils
 Topographic & Bathymetric Survey
 Ownership
2. Preliminary Design
 Define project sufficiently for Budgeting & Permitting
 Permitting package submitted
3. Final Design
 Sealed Bid & Construction documents

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Whitewater
Management
Design Criteria for Recreation Structures
http://www.udfcd.org/downloads/down_critmanual.htm
http://cwcb.state.co.us/technical-resources/floodplain-
stormwater-criteria-manual/Pages/main.aspx

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Whitewater
Management
Safety and Whitewater Performance
Features are
Hydraulic Jumps,
and other Hydraulic
Phenomena

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Whitewater
Management
Safety
Low Hazard for Well Equipped Users
No Unobvious Hazards
Safety Considerations
 Overly Retentive Hydraulics
 Strainers
 Pinning
 Foot/hand Entrapment
 Impact/Abrasion Injuries
 Channel Egress

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Whitewater
Management
Hole Breaking Wave
Whitewater Forms

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Whitewater
Management
Design Tools – 1D Jump Equations
Wave and Hole Hydraulics















2
11
3
13
132
1
/1
/
*
2
1
y
h
y
y
yy
yy
F























2
1
3
2
113
12
1
/1
/
*
2
1 3
y
y
y
h
yy
yy
F
Governing Equations

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Whitewater
Management
Design Tools
 Analytical Models – 1D, 2D, & 3D
 Physical Model
 Experience

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Whitewater
Management
Design Aspects
Structure
Stability/Durability
Lowest Life-Cycle
Costs
Natural Appearance

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Whitewater
Management
Durability/Reliability
Hydro Static ForcesZoo Rock
AVOID: “New Techniques” Bigger is not Always Better

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Whitewater
Management
Durago, Colorado
• “With the force of the following spring’s run-off, a rock
in the hole shifted, creating a strong “keeper”
hydraulic at certain water levels.”
• “Lombardo said that shifting rocks and mutating
features go with the territory, adding that two of
Lacy’s recent projects – one in Salida and one
Steamboat Springs – met similar fates.”
July 10, 2003 – Durango Telegraph
Breckenridge, Colorado
• “The repair work goes beyond
normal "tweaking" of the Blue
River amenity.”
• “That work will include rebuilding 80 percent of a
structure in the first phase and modifying the faces of
three other structures to provide a better whitewater
experience.”
• "It's normal to do modifications," Andersen said. "Most
of that money was to go toward tweaking. Now, we
have major bank stabilization issues that aren't
normal."
April 13, 2004 – Summit Daily News
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
“The 2003 runoff was so strong
over Memorial Day weekend that
it undermined large boulders and
washed out the hole.”
June 1, 2004 Steamboat Pilot & Today
Whitewater Course Failures
The New D-Hole

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Whitewater
Management
Aesthetics – Layered Grouted Boulders &
Faux Rock
Layered Grouted Boulders
Faux Rock

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Whitewater
Management
Adjustable Features

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Whitewater
Management
Hartland Diversion Gunnison River, CO
Permitting
 CWA 404 Permit – USACE
 Nationwide Permit
 Standard Individual Permit
 Regional General Permit
 CWA 401 Permit – USACE/State
 Floodplain LOMR/CLOMR – FEMA/State/Local
 Stormwater/Dewatering NPDES – EPA/State
 Building/Development Codes – Local
 Others: NEPA, EIS, FERC Relicensing
Communicate Early & Often w/ Regulators

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Whitewater
Management
PPL Holtwood Hydropower Expansion

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Whitewater
Management
Design & Permitting Take Away
 Must be Sealed by a Licensed Professional Engineer
 Preliminary Design Needed for Realistic Budgeting
 Durability, Performance, Safety & Life-Cycle Costs
Related
 ID Regulators & Communicate Early & Often

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Whitewater
Management
Construction & Tuning
Myth or Reality?
Permanent structures are the most expensive part of
building a whitewater project.

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Whitewater
Management
Construction Process
 Design-Bid-Build (Low Bidder)
 Design Build & Best Value Bid
 Design & Bid Documents
 Bidding & Award
 Construction
 QA/QC
 Start-up
 Tuning

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Whitewater
Management
Temporary Dewatering

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Whitewater
Management

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Whitewater
Management

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Whitewater
Management
Start-up & Tuning

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Whitewater
Management
Construction & Tuning Pitfalls
 Incomplete or “vague” construction documents
 Constructability not considered in design
 Qualified contractors
 Insufficient tuning budget

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Whitewater
Management
Legacy
Myth or Reality?
Whitewater Parks require minimal on-going maintenance

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Whitewater
Management
What is Legacy?
 Goals & Objectives
 Operations
 Maintenance
 Liability

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Whitewater
Management
Were Goals & Objectives Met?
 Post-construction eval
 Are people using it?
 User surveys
 Direct measurements

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Whitewater
Management
Operations & Maintenance
 Dependent on Type of Facility
 High – Recirculating Courses
 Medium – Adjustable Features
 Low – Static In-river
 Routine O&M
 Visual inspection
 Debris removal
 Sediment removal
 Vegetation management
 Trash removal
 Erosion

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Whitewater
Management
Non-Routine Maintenance
 Structural “maintenance”
 Life-cycle Costs
 Safety Concerns
 Performance

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Whitewater
Management
Green River Wyoming

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Whitewater
Management
Green River Wyoming

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Whitewater
Management
Liability
 Successful Lawsuits
 State Laws
 Consult Legal Council

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Whitewater
Management
Legacy Pitfalls
 Focus on Design & Construction - Plan for the Future
 In-accurate estimate of annual maintenance budgets /
Life-cycle costs not considered
 Difficulty of maintaining in-river structures
 Owners ill-equipped to operate whitewater parks

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Whitewater
Management
Conclusions
 Whitewater Parks 101 – Who, What & Why
 Whitewater Road Map – Key Project Phases
 Identify Goals & Objectives
 Get Buy-in
 Execute Design & Construction
 Plan for the Future – Legacy
“Nothing worth doing is easy”
-River manager in the middle of a whitewater project

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Whitewater
Management
Thank You
Ben Nielsen, PE, LEED AP
Rick McLaughlin, PE
McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group
www.mclaughlinwhitewater.com
ben@mclaughlinwhitewater.com
rick@mclaughlinwhitewater.com
303-964-3333

Recreational Whitewater: Keys to Successful Management - Ben Nielsen and Rick McLaughlin, McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group, a division of Merrick & Company

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Recreational Whitewater: Keys to Successful Management - Ben Nielsen and Rick McLaughlin, McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group, a division of Merrick & Company