Some water rights officials want to create a 4,000 acre reservoir on the river.

Supporters of keeping the river the way it is met Tuesday to hear an announcement recognizing it as one of the top 10 most endangered rivers in the country.

Some conservationists say the designation is a wake up call.

“One of ten rivers?” said Dorothea Farris of the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association. “Do you know how many thousands of rivers exist in the nation, and a lot of them are threatened? To be one of the most threatened is a designation that we have to get rid of.”

The Colorado River District has created a proposal to place a dam and reservoirs on the main channel of the Crystal River. The goal is to fill needs for hydropower generation or increased irrigation abilities, but some people don’t think that’s necessary.

“The problem is that the project as proposed doesn’t really accomplish much of any of that,” said John Ely, a Pitkin County attorney.

American Rivers placed the Crystal River on their list of endangered rivers with the hope of making policy makers aware of the potential threat.

“An endangered river doesn’t mean it’s like this polluted dead river … the purpose of the listing is to prevent that from happening,” said Matt Rice of American Rivers.

Many agencies have come out in support of the river conservation, saying “inappropriate development” could have significant impacts economically, as it would reduce recreation opportunities drastically, and damage surrounding wildlife.

“There for years has been water rights that would allow a dam to be built at the narrows … that would flood this entire wetland,” said Farris.

A trial for the continuation of water rights and the proposal of the reservoirs project will be held in August 2013. Conservationists say they hope the new designation helps change policy makers’ minds.

American Rivers, Pitkin County, Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association and the Roaring Fork Conservancy will hold a Crystal River event on May 29 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Dos Gringos Burritos on 588 Highway 133 in Carbondale.

See the video at www.krextv.com News channel 5
Story Created: May 15, 2012 at 11:58 PM MDT
Story Updated: May 16, 2012 at 6:12 PM MDT

Frank Watt, public works director, said, “We asked the question, are we achieving our purpose of providing the safest drinking water possible? The addition of fluoride did not help us achieve that goal.”

“The addition of fluoride doesn’t make the water safer, and does not improve the quality of water. It has known health benefits, but it also has known hazards,” Watt said.

Watt told NewsChannel 5, “It is highly acidic. It can burn your skin, burn your eyes. There were safety concerns for our operators at the water plant, as well as the public.”

Although the town won’t be adding fluoride to the water, there will still be some fluoride in it. Watt said, “There is naturally occurring fluoride in our water. It’s not like there will be no fluoride at all, it’s just that we won’t be supplementing it at all to get to a higher level, they say, the state health department would like to see us achieve.”

Officials say if you are worried about reduced fluoride levels in the drinking water, there are products such as mouthwash and toothpaste to supplement that loss.

Other cities, including Grand Junction, continue to put fluoride in the drinking water.

Water News I

Aspen Times

ASPEN — In a blow to the anti-fluoridation lobby, the Aspen City Council opted Monday to continue adding fluoride to the municipal water supply, albeit at a lower concentration.

Discussion during Monday night’s regular council meeting on options to ban the practice or continue it were somewhat limited, with council members saying they had spent enough hours researching the pros and cons of fluoridation, the focus of a lengthy September work session. Mayor Mick Ireland, a tax lawyer, even joked that since so many people inundated him with information on the topic, he would return the favor by emailing sections of the tax code.