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Rafting Companies Work To Keep Waters Safe

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Jun 25, 2008 6:26 am US/Mountain

Rafting Companies Work To Keep Waters Safe

Reporting
Andrea Lopez
BUENA VISTA, Colo. (CBS4) ― With river rafting becoming increasingly popular, rafting companies say they are taking precautions to keep people safe. But the sport still comes with risks.

An official with the Colorado River Outfitters Association, Johnny Cantamessa, attributes the convenience of river sports to their increased popularity.

"It's a quick day trip for people so they don't have to spend a lot of money given the current gas prices," Cantamessa said.

He says that the heightened popularity of river rafting is to blame for higher numbers of rafting-related accidents this season.

"Along with the popularity of the sport growing, unfortunately… so does the amount of incidents that occur on commercial raft trips," Cantamessa said.

He is quick to point out, however, that strict regulations make commercial rafting much safer than rafting alone.

"Commercial outfitters are held to the River Outfitters License Statute and we have to meet certain training requirements along with certain equipment requirements that we have to have on every trip," Cantamessa said.

A big part of commercial rafting safety is avoiding sections of river where high waters become dangerous, according to Cantamessa.

"We tend to stay away from those [areas] during those time periods," he said.

Recently, the Eagle County Sheriff Department threatened to close a section of the Eagle River after 19 people were dumped off two commercial rafts. The department has not yet acted on the threat. It reported that rescuers have had more calls so far this year than in all of last year.

Across Colorado, as many as eight people have died this season while rafting or kayaking.

Although the number of accidents might seem alarming, the Outfitters Association says that when the increased number of river-goers is taken into account. Rates of river-related accidents are actually comparatively low this year.

Similarly, the association says that compared to the last 20 years, water levels in Colorado's rivers are average for the season.

Outfitters say that water levels peaked a few days ago and are expected to go down.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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