Barren River in Bowling Green has been the site of two drownings in as many months. With construction on early features of Riverfront Park set to begin next year, and with the Barren River Whitewater Park on the horizon, improving safety for water recreation is a focus for the city. Brent Childers, director of Neighborhood and Community Services, told the Daily News safety enhancements have been the “backbone” of the project from the start.
“(There) is a history of people, either intentionally or unintentionally, going into the river,” Childers said. “We wanted to go in with it with that mindset.” Presently, the river only has one low-head dam, which raises the river levels upstream to provide drinking water.
Water is able to flow through the dam and over the dam’s top, creating strong rapids around the dam. Additionally, the elevation of the river changes all at once with the current dam, adding to the danger. Over $3 million in funding for the whitewater park was secured in late September.
The project will consist of several in-stream drops that will disrupt the flow of the river and will allow the elevation of the river to decrease over a longer distance, rather than all at once. “The whole purpose of this is to create a new recreational amenity, but it also makes the river safer in this area,” he said. The rapids on the river will not be as intense as some whitewater destinations, like the ones found at Ocoee River Whitewater Rafting near Chattanooga.
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