WEBVTT

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We took a 36 or so mile meandering

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stream and we turned it into about a 24

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mile channel . We made it wider ,

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we built some banks up , we built it

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deeper so that we had more capacity to

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move more water out in the event that

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we had big rainfall events without

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flooding . The flow is very

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minimal around 30 CFS . So there may be

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some standing pools of water to paddle

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down , but it's not the most desirable

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place to go paddling . It's a man made

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canal and so they made structures to

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hold back water to be able to have flow

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and for farmers to be able to access

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irrigation . So the idea of the canal

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wasn't initially designed for

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recreation . It was meant for other

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uses .

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Head dams are a feature . Its sole

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purpose is to hold back water for

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various reasons . One thing it doesn't

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do well is to be able to navigate it

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safely . The one behind us now is

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fairly calm looking , but as water

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increases the flow , those become very

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dangerous . One of the reasons is the

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uniform nature of it and what happens

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is water doesn't have a way once it

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goes over , it back fills and there's

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no way to essentially escape .

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Always wear your personal flotation

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device . When you're in a boat of any

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kind , let people know where you're

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going , know what hazards are coming

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your way , do your research and ask

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questions . And when in doubt , get out

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and scout because coming up on a low

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head dam would be life threatening .

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There's an awful lot of material

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available . There are books available

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that talk about even the hazards here

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on the lower long term . And you know ,

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it's incumbent upon anybody choosing

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that adventure to choose wisely and to

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do all you can do to be aware of the

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hazards and to be safe .