Water or money?
Posted in the news is that the train is "a nice ploy" to deplete Clear Creek. So are the Kayaks ... so is the water.
Legally, according to recent news, Golden has first rights. It doesn't matter if they want Kayaks or big waterfountains.
So, they lay claim to their water rights, which means towns upstream and downstream have to bow to their Golden's premiere legal right. Downstream isn't so critical if the water is returned to the stream.
It's not just the train that is out of water, but towns like Silver Plume and Empire. This means if you live there, you don't have water for washing clothes, brushing teeth, etc.
That wouldn't be tolerated, so what next? ... THE TRAIN! The train consumes water, and returns it to the atmosphere in the form of steam. Physics teaches "conservation of mass". In simpler terms, what goes up must come down. The train does not consume a precious commodity that leaves earth. Earth is 2/3 water.
Besides, as Roger states, the water that is used by the train would not provide enough water to raise Clear Creek sufficiently to supply water to a Kayak park. To add to Roger's math, calculate the width of the creek, evaporation from flow of the creek, loss of water for misc. natural diversions, length of flow, rate of flow, and time of 24 hours per day and 7 days a week. Think about it. The train in Silver Plume has no effect on the possibility of a kayak park in Golden. Money from these mountain towns would have a much less dissipation rate than the water. GOLDEN WANTS MONEY.
As for Coors, they claim that their water source is an aqua fur that supplies spring water. Coors does not drain water from Clear Creek and package it as beer. AND, Coors provides Golden's water treatment.
So ... does Golden REEEALLY need the water? Or, do they need to find ways to charge the towns upstream for water rights? Money or water? Objective deduction indicates someone in Golden figuring a way to get more money.
Stay tuned for cost of tickets for next year. Railfans to pay for Golden's need and greed.
