Low Water Dams On The Way To The Arkansas

At least one part of the failed River Plan will be happening after all.  Governor Henry signed a bill on Thursday  morning that will give $25 million in state money to build low-water dams on the Arkansas River.   The News On 6's Steve Berg reports the money will be matched by $50 million in federal money and $10 million in Vision 2025 funds.

That should be enough, or very close to what they need, to build two new dams and rehabilitate another.

Amy Merrill is showing the Riverwalk Crossing in Jenks to an out-of-town friend from Arkansas.  And, as luck and the recent rains would have it, the river is up.

"I mean it's a lot nicer to let her see the river when it's up like this than it would be for it to just be, ya know, sandy soils or whatever," said Amy Merrill.

But, with a low-water dam at Jenks, the water would be the rule, instead of the exception.

"It should look like this pretty well all the time," said Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland.

Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland was on hand to greet Governor Henry and says the state funding is very good news and he looks forward to the effect the low-water dam will have on business and tourism.

"I can promise you that all the people who are coming to Jenks right now, their main comment is, ‘boy it's nice to have water in the river,'" said Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland.

The plan is to rehab the existing dam on Zink Lake, build a new dam in Jenks, and add a new one in Sand Springs, along with improvements to the river banks.

"It's progress toward realizing the INCOG plan, and we're going to take it one step at a time," said Ken Levit with the Kaiser Foundation.

Levit says some of the privately funded portions of the former River Plan will gradually re-materialize, as well.

"We've been moving forward on the trails.  Two miles of trails are essentially done.  We're expanding additional miles of trails, and as the public sector invests, so will we," said Ken Levit with the Kaiser Foundation.