Flood prevention in Tulsa and it surrounding communities

Even with days of rain, most areas in and around Tulsa no longer have serious flooding problems, but that hasn't always been the case. <br><br>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan has the story. <br><br>It

Friday, April 23rd 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Even with days of rain, most areas in and around Tulsa no longer have serious flooding problems, but that hasn't always been the case.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan has the story.

It was a single night of rain in 1984 that turned the tide on flood control for the Tulsa area. 15 inches of rain fell overnight on Memorial Day weekend, killing 14 people, causing $180-million dollars worth of damage. Thousands of homes flooded and were damaged beyond repair.

That flood prompted the decision to solve Tulsa's flood problem - and ultimately those of the surrounding communities.

Even now - the community of Bixby is still working to control flood waters. Bixby city manager Micky Webb: â€œWe are not done, and I doubt we'll ever be completely done.â€ 700 homes along Fry Creek used to flood routinely - now they hardly ever do. â€œThey had to stay up night after night, and worry if the city was going to take care of the water and keep it out of the house and now they can go to bed like everyone else in Tulsa County.â€

Now that the work along Fry Creek in Bixby is done - the city is looking to make improvements to areas that flood less frequently like the Haikey Creek channel. A lot of work has already been done here, but the projects that are in the works will open up 1,100 acres for new development.

After 1984, Tulsa spent more than $200-million to clear out channels and build retention ponds. The investment has paid off - changing Tulsa from one of the most flood prone cities - to one of the most unlikely to flood.

Even though Tulsa's flood control projects are much more advanced than they were 20 years ago, they've never been tested with the kind of rainfall we had back in '84.