Whitewater Park Snafu Leads to Legal Conflicts on Dallas' Trinity River

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has balked at the city's request to declare the Trinity River unnavigable," reports Tristan Hallman. The city sought the declaration of the river as "navigable downstream-only" in the hopes of setting the legal foundation for a lawsuit against the designer of a whitewater park on the river.

According to the article, the city is hoping to avoid the "multimillion-dollar repair or removal costs of the standing wave underneath the Santa Fe Trestle. The bypass channels for the $4 million whitewater feature, opened in 2011, are more dangerous than expected and don't allow for upstream navigability for casual boaters as the city had promised."

The Army Corps of Engineers refused the request of the city, saying river was previously used by recreational boats, both upstream and downstream, and there was no reason to disallow those traditional uses in the future. City Attorney Larry Casto has described that description of the Trinity River as "a vestige of a bygone era," according to Hallman's summary of the two conflicting opinions on the subject.

The city of Dallas might have recalled the long-term consequences of a decision to declare an urban river non-navigable, as in the example of Los Angeles River, instead of settling for the short-term reward of this lawsuit.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Department informed the design firm, Arlington-based Schrickel, Rollins and Associates, of its intention to sue in January.