Plans for phase one of Rock the River are underway.

In the 2012 Whitehorse city budget, nearly $140,000 has been allocated towards the project.

The money is coming in though federal and territorial grants but will be handled by the city, said Doug Hnatiuk, project and community developer for the city.

The end goal of the project is the creation of an urban whitewater sport and recreation park in the east channel of the Yukon River.

The project has been broken into thee phases with an expected completion date of five to seven years, said Hnatiuk.

The initial phase, which will include a master plan for the area as well as a socioeconomic impact study, is expected to be submitted to the city and the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club (YCKC) by the end of the summer.

John Quincy, president of the YCKC, said that the club is still working towards their fundraising goals. The actual cost of completing phase one will be closer to three to four times the $140,000 amount, said Quincy.

"We're excited about it because it's a good chunk of the cost and we'll be able to get the project well underway,” he said.

Hnatiuk said the city began working the YCKC in 2007 to help raise funds for a project that he believes is purposeful and warranted.

"The support has been great,” said Quincy. "We've had stakeholder meetings with people like Yukon energy, all three levels of government, engineers and tourism, over the past two years, and we always walk away with a lot of positive thoughts.”

Hnatiuk said there is a complete work plan in place, which Inukshuk Planning will lead locally.

"Inukshuk Planning is the team leader and about 40 per cent of the work will be done by local businesses,” said Quincy, who is excited about the local representation.

"It means the money spent stays in the territory, and the people know the area and who to talk to,” he said.

The remaining 60 per cent of the project will be handled by a Colorado-based engineering firm.

In 2000, two members of the YCKC attended a water park symposium in Colorado which "really opened our eyes to what the project could become,” said Quincy.

The Colorado team was then brought into Whitehorse where the club expected to receive an overall plan about how to handle the development.

What followed was a revelation.

"They took a very holistic approach,” said Quincy.

The team reported the health of the river, analyzed how it is used, and also accounted for the wildlife, flora and fauna.

"They provided us with a feasibility report which really surprised us and it involved a lot of money,” said Quincy.

"We were just a community club and we looked at the kind of money they were talking about and we weren't sure what to do with it.”

Quincy said that once the project is completed the entire community would benefit.

"People will be able to practice their river running skills right here in town, local companies that run lessons will be able to teach in town, tourists that come to do adventure tours can practice their skills here,” he said.

"There are many water parks around the world that have been developed successfully but there aren't that many that have been developed right in a city centre so we're very lucky to have this.”

Quincy said the goal is to have a course that has been refined enough to host international events with top-tier athletes, while also being functional for local novice paddlers.

"Guaranteed it would bring people here to the territory, people would make it a destination point to use the water park and access the other rivers,” said Quincy.

"We could host the annual world freestyle competition, or the Canadian national competition or a western event.”

Quincy said the design work involved would be sensitive to the natural setting with the goal in mind to preserve the natural beauty of the river.

Phase two of the project would include the hydrology and technical study of the water while phase three would be the actual implementation of the project.

"It's an exciting project for the residents of the city,” said Hnatiuk. "We've had a lot of support for the project up until now but there's still a lot of study work that has to be done.”