With Colorado’s largest historic district and the Arkansas River flowing right through downtown, Salida, Colorado is both a proud example of REP’s engineering and labor of love.  Long neglected and abused by both the historic rail corridor on one side and the town on the other, the Arkansas River in Salida was literally cut-off from the community when the Arkansas River Trust initiated this project in the spring of 2000.  Through four phases of development, a public/private partnership between the City of Salida and the Arkansas River Trust raised $300,000 in grant funding for this national attraction.  With four world class play waves that have hosted national championships in 2006 & 2008, a slalom course, trails, creative bank terracing, a renovated community theater/conference center, outdoor amphitheater, rock climbing wall and restaurants lining the banks of the Arkansas River, this project serves as an example of a community transformed by a whitewater park.  REP served as the lead for engineering, planning and Chaffee County’s water rights filing.