Siloam Springs white-water park engineers the perfect kayak wave

Special to the Democrat-Gazette/BOB ROBINSON
An unidentified kayaker tackles  rapid No. 2  Sept. 7 at Siloam Springs Kayak Park
Special to the Democrat-Gazette/BOB ROBINSON An unidentified kayaker tackles rapid No. 2 Sept. 7 at Siloam Springs Kayak Park

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Ask white-water boaters to describe their "dream wave," and responses will differ, because one paddler's excitement is another paddler's terror. But the rosiest descriptions will include:

• A wave with eddies on both sides that allow you to rest while waiting your turn to play;

• A wave that is easy to paddle into from either the side eddies or from downstream, so you can run through it more than once;

• A retentive wave that will allow you to surf for a while, yet not so retentive that you're "rodeo'd" around when trying to exit;

• A wave that is smooth on the face and frothy at the top so you can perform spins and vertical maneuvers without catching a boat edge and being flushed downstream;

• A wave you can float year-round.

Add to this easy access, with parking.

Well, as Walt Disney said, "Dreams can come true." The Siloam Springs Kayak Park in Northwest Arkansas offers all of these characteristics and more.

Built by a $2 million grant from The Walton Family Foundation, the project grew from four years of planning by the foundation and the city. The park is at a frothy bend on the Illinois River known locally as Fisher Ford, long a popular "play spot" for white-water enthusiasts. Before construction of the park, as water flowed over the original layer of bedrock, irregular currents and unpredictable waves often resulted in unsafe conditions for most paddlers.

Shane Sigle, president of Recreation Engineering and Planning (REP) of Denver, said that his engineers' aim in designing the park was to create a safer white-water boating amenity that would accommodate paddlers with a wide range of skills.

REP specializes in dam modification, white-water parks and riverside design and restoration. An industry leader, REP has been involved in the design of more than 80 percent of the white-water parks built in North America over the past 27 years, including facilities in San Marcos, Texas; Boulder and Golden, Colo.; Calgary, Alberta; and other outdoor white-water destinations. And for this park it had input from Crist Engineers Inc. of Little Rock, whose president is Stewart Noland, a stalwart in the Arkansas Canoe Club.

National expertise combined with local knowledge to create an environment where beginning boaters could practice standard white-water maneuvers in swift water, such as catching eddies and honing their rollover skills, and also include features that would challenge the more experienced boaters.

SPLASHING IN

In the interest of experiencing the park firsthand, I hauled my kayak to the park recently. I launched at the recommended put-in just above the waves under the bridge.

It had been a while since I was last in my kayak, so once I was in the water, and after wrestling the tight spray skirt over the cockpit, I paddled around in the still water a bit, becoming reacquainted with my boat.

I am not a beginning kayaker, but I am a far cry from being a "playboater." So I took advantage of a series of large boulders spaced apart on the approach to the initial wave to practice eddying in behind them.

I later discovered that this series of strategically positioned obstacles was part of the engineers' grand plan. The paddle area and boulders were included to help boaters loosen up and get comfortable before entering the first wave.

Uncertain what to expect, I did a float-through on my first run of the first wave. With the water flow about 290 cubic feet per second (cfs), my progress was swift and silky smooth as I floated between rock formations on the approach. But when the front of my kayak pierced a rough, 3-foot wall of foamy water that splashed over the bow, I was thankful for my spray skirt.

If I had not taken the time to install it I'm certain I would have been lugging a heavy kayak to the shore to dump a boatload of water.

The first wave drops boaters into a large pool of water. It provided ample room where I could eddy-out on either side safely -- that is, to turn my boat out of the current and into a calm patch of water. Often paddlers know how to eddy-out to one side and yet are awkward on the other side. This feature will allow them to master the skill on both sides.

Once I exited the current, it was a short paddle to return to the mouth of the wave to try the same wave again.

The water swiftly pouring past the nose of my boat made for a smooth, easy transition as I left the still water of the eddy to enter the fast current. Once I had inched my entire boat out onto the wave, the craft smoothly settled backward into the turbulent backflow built up from the hydraulics created by the fast flow dropping off the ledge and then driving down under higher levels of standing, pooled water.

A moment later I freely surfed across the wave, from one side and then to the other. With the rear half of my vessel snugly tucked into the foaming, churning waters and the bow dancing lightly across the surface of the glass-smooth, swift flowing wave, the corners of my mouth began turning up to form a wide, heartfelt smile.

And I thought, "Sweet."

This wave truly had just the right amount of water retention for a "dream wave."

So later, while interviewing Sigle, I felt I had to ask about the engineering that went into that wave. How did they do it?

He explained that creating a white-water park comprises 60 percent work and engineering and 40 percent art, science and experience. When I pressed the issue further, asking, really now, specifically, what they had done to create this dream wave I had experienced, he jokingly (at least I hope he was joking) replied, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

I took that as a not so subtle hint that he wasn't eager to share the trade secrets acquired as the result of many years' experience. Probably there was math involved as well.

WAVE 2

Originally Fisher Ford offered just one white-water rapid. REP designed a second wave, which extended the length of the play area to 700 feet.

This second wave has a steeper drop than the first, which causes faster water flow. The hydraulics from the force generated from this added speed, combined with the effect of emptying into a pool larger than the one right after the first wave, results in taller standing waves at the bottom of the run.

REP designed this wave to challenge more experienced paddlers. Their skills will be tested as they attempt to eddy into the wave from the side. Once in the wave, they will have to work harder to remain within these breaking waves without being flushed out with the current.

So, as intended, newer paddlers can enjoy Wave 1 and the more advanced can look forward to Wave 2.

Many natural springs that originate in the Ozark Mountains feed into the Illinois River watershed, and since spring-water levels are not as affected by seasonal drought as other sources, the waves should be available year-round. However, REP helped out Mother Nature in this area. Working with advice from the canoe club, designers decided to forgo building features that would require the dynamics available during annual 30 percent wetter seasons; instead they tailored their structures to work at the lower water levels during the remaining 70 percent of the year.

With very minor and subtle changes to the existing natural structure, the builders created the pools to retain water for longer periods than is usual after a rain, and they designed the waves to be floatable even at lower water levels.

The park offers optimal experiences at a flow of 300 cfs. But there is still fun to be had at higher and lower flow levels.

NO SWIMMING

On the banks of scenic Illinois River, the Siloam Springs Kayak Park is an alcohol-free park. Also located at the park is a climbing boulder for kids, paved trails, picnic tables, changing rooms and riverside seating.

But Holland Hayden, communications manager for the city, cautions visitors that the area is not a public pool. The Illinois River is a naturally flowing waterway, and natural rivers have sometimes unpredictable currents.

Using REP's plans, a Michigan construction company, TSP Environmental, began construction of what was originally to be called Siloam Springs Whitewater Recreation Park on Sept. 21, 2013, and the final walk-through by the contractors and engineers was June 3. The area opened to the public, and a big celebration was planned for June 28. That was canceled after a 16-year-old swimmer drowned in the area during a group visit to the park June 17.

After consulting with a safety task force, the city changed the name to Siloam Springs Kayak Park on Aug. 25, to emphasize that the area is designed for boating. Inner tubes are also allowed.

The park's signs recommend that all boaters and tubers wear Type III or V life jackets, helmets and closed-toed shoes while in the water. The waves within the park are rated Class II and III whitewater, which means they can be dangerous.

But for paddlers and tubers who come prepared, they are a little dream come true.

ActiveStyle on 09/22/2014

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