Zink Lake Upstream Catch Basin and Silt Removal
Allocation: $2,100,000.00
Status: In Progress
Summary Update:
The Environmental Assessment has been completed, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who has regulatory jurisdiction and permitting authority over this project, issued the 404 permit in January of 2014. With the introduction of the Gathering Place on the east bank of the river, updates to the preliminary design report and cost estimates were necessary to become consistent with the Gathering Place design. Coordination with the design team helped develop a scope of work that addressed the USACE requests. Additional mitigation implementation was also requested by the USACE, which required additional engineering design for final revision. This work is complete and the USACE issued the revised 404 permit in September 2016. Permit compliance is being closely coordinated with the final design project being funded by the City of Tulsa’s “Vision Tulsa” sales tax program. The project has been transferred to the City of Tulsa for implementation. Construction began October 2020, with anticipated completion late 2023.
Vision 2025 dedicated $2.1 million to this project. A portion of this funding has been used for the environmental studies and engineering design of the proposed project. Matching grant funds from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been utilized in this project.
Background:
The originally proposed method of managing the sand and sediment accumulations within Zink Lake was to excavate a hole in the riverbed and dredge its sand accumulations. Much of the area proposed for the excavated hole is already scoured to bedrock and does not have the sand depth suitable for this method. The Arkansas River was once a sand-dominated prairie river, but that has changed with the completion of Keystone Dam. Since the construction of Keystone Dam and formation of Keystone Lake, natural sand and sediment loadings from upstream sources have been diminishing. This trend is expected to continue as long as Keystone Dam remains in place. Studies have recommended a more sustainable alternative. Adding more full-height gates to the mid-section of Zink Dam will increase capability to scour sand from Zink Lake during high-flow conditions. The existing Zink Dam has only 150 feet of gate opening along the 1400-foot length. The proposed plan would replace the existing gates and add gates to the midsection of the dam. Sand would then flow downstream during high-flow conditions, rather than being trapped by the solid dam.
See also:
RiverProjectsTulsa.info