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Healthy Rivers subcommittee explores ‘peaking’ in‑stream flows for Crystal River cottonwood habitat
Summary
The Healthy Rivers stakeholder group is investigating a new kind of in‑stream flow right — a seasonal high‑flow or “peaking” water right intended to mimic large flushing flows for riparian species — and is seeking scientific consultation on whether the Crystal River’s riparian plant and sediment regimes could be protected by such a right.
The Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Advisory Board reported on a stakeholder subcommittee effort to explore a novel approach to in‑stream flow protection on the Crystal River: a targeted, high‑flow ‘‘peaking’’ right intended to sustain riparian vegetation such as cottonwoods and willow and to shape sediment regimes.
Why it matters: Traditional in‑stream flow rights protect minimum flows. The subcommittee is evaluating whether a different legal and technical instrument — one that recognizes the ecological importance of episodic large flows (flood pulses) to seedbed formation and tree recruitment — could be decreed to protect specific…
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