jp1, the ownership issue in CO is even more convoluted than that. If you own land on one side of a river you own the bottom of the river to the mid-point. Own both sides and you own the whole bottom. You can, mostly legally, put a fence across it just like you could on any other land you own. Fishermen, rafters, kayakers, etc. will likely find issue with that and make the fence difficult to maintain, but it won't necessarily be illegal.
The water flowing down the river is an entirely different matter. I helped build a small diversion (roughly 15 CFS at maximum flow) from a river that would flow anywhere from 1200 to over 8000 CFS at the point of the diversion. The water would flow through this channel for 1.3 miles then enter back into the river. It was never more than 100 yards from the river and there were no water rights access points in the 1.3 miles so nobody's ability to draw water was effected. It was built to provide additional spawning ground and high water refuge for the river's native trout population. Keep in mind, no water was ever actually taken from the river, it was simply diverted into a side channel then put right back into the main current. To do this required approval from the CO Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, three holders of Senior water rights in the Colorado River drainage, multiple other State, County and local agencies and the EPA. If anyone is discovered even touching the flow of water in any river in CO without going through that entire process they will immediately land in court or jail or both.
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