The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the city's ordinances on what you can and can not do on Zink Lake as far as recreation goes. I understand that "primary body contact" and motorized recreation is prohibited. I'm curious, because me and my girlfriend are thinking about taking a paddle boat out on it during the 4th of July.

I think ordinances are available online at the city's website. But I'll clue you in on a couple things. Primary body contact is not prohibited. It is a warning that  primary contact may be unhealthy. They are put around the lake primarily because there are no lifeguards and no regular water testing. IOW, you're on your own out there. Honestly, those signs could be put on lakes and rivers all over Oklahoma. They are meant to discourage use because there is no budgeting for security, safety and rescue on a regular basis along the lake.

You may not take a paddle boat on the lake during the 4th of July fireworks celebrations. They put a fire dept. "rescue" boat on the lake that night to make sure no one does. You could locate your paddle boat north of the 11th street bridge but the water will be high and fast. I would not recommend doing that with a small boat. However, on any other date you make put your non motorized, paddle boat in the lake and enjoy. I have done that many times. Make sure you have it registered and tagged or one of the zealots may call a cop. Also, stay off the islands, they are off limits.

I hold the distinction of having been the only person to have had boats on the lake during past fireworks displays. Did it two seasons. I had a pontoon with a private party of 20 people and an airboat with 6 people. It was fabulous. Inept and/or lazy management keeps people off the lake during such events. They are more interested in land based activities. A very good example of why new dams are not as good an investment for water users as they are for land development.

Well, don't forget the tricky part for those w/o experience on the river, Waterboy- the flow rate and level.  I gather most people think of the current as pretty benign when the water level is 7-9 feet because it's so full-looking and the current isn't that apparent until you get near one of the islands or a bridge.  At 8ft. on the 11th St. gage, it equates to 30,000 CFM which is swift.

The last couple of 4th of Julys, if there'd been a bunch of paddle boats out on the river, it would have been a total disaster.

Absolutely. That's why I counseled him against such. Underestimating the power of water is deadly. They usually have plenty of water to release around the fourth and do so. Paddle boats were available back in the eighties by a concessionaire but were limited to the protected Amphitheater area. Unfortunately that wasn't a very appealing backwater and it didn't survive. My paddle boat had a backup trolling motor.

You rowing guys are pretty brave to be out there during releases. Not like that OKC slow flow.

Yeah walk down the pedestrian bridge this time of year just to get a feel for the raw power of the current. It's kind of scary.

I love walking across the ped bridge when they are releasing a lot of water and seeing all the rapids.  This time of year is great for that with lots of rain falling in the watershed and snowmelt from the Rockies. 

Zink lake pictures I thought were cool:

Indeed, it's pretty wild. Water Current has power. Hey there's a water intake station on Lake McConanghy in Western Nebraska not far from where you can go into the water- but keep clear of that water intake it's real powerful, you can hear the roar of it from shore- there are no signs warning people not to swim, I'd guess the intake was located just about 100' feet from shore. I would not go in that water any deeper than knee deep - Another wild place is Vermilion, South Dakota on the Nebraska border, there's a Clay County Lakeside use area, actually it's all part of the Missouri River and that place if full of whurlpools, there was a large one about 30' from shore. I went in the water knee deep just to wash up and rinse off after a hard day of laying pipe in town and I kept clear of that wherlpool-  There was also a little wooden dock that went up to about 15' away from that thing and it was a bit to the left of it- the water made a slurping like sound as it spun around, I don't know what was in the water to make that spinning pool, it was a weird thing.. There were other wherlpools farther out in the water..  this was around 1992, I dunno if everything is the same or not.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am aware of the risks and have never underestimated the speed of the water flow for that river. I frequently run a few miles around the Zink Lake area and have noticed that at times, the water moves faster than me. And it becomes even more apparent near the low water dam. But I wasn't aware of them preventing people from using it during the 4th. I just thought that no one ever thought of the idea since i've been out on the river every year for the fireworks and have never seen anyone out there. I guess that's why, lol. Title 26 is very broad and didn't zero in on Zink Lake specifically so I didn't know if there was another place I wasn't looking that had more information. Nonetheless, I suppose I will have to enjoy Zink Lake at other times around the 4th.

Anywho, to clarify, I suppose I should have called it a "pedal boat" instead of a paddle boat. To give you an idea, here is what they look like:

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It would be pretty terrifying to be in that thing and get caught in the current heading for the low water dam..  Not sure if I would just bail out and try my best to swim to shore or hunker down in the boat and hope for the best. 

That's very similar to the one I had except that I had the option of kicking in a 24volt trolling motor when my legs got tired. It might be okay at low levels (below 7500cfs or about 4ft at the bridge) but keep it off above that.

River water speed is about 5-8mph depending on release, depth, width etc. First, carry some sort of anchor and rope. If you find yourself heading towards the dam throw that anchor out and pull yourself towards the shore. Keep throwing it out till you get to slower water. If that fails, snag the cable that runs across  the river with bouys on it and pull yourself to safety.

Best plan is just don't go any farther south than the skate park without a power source. Beautiful pics btw.

Have you ever known anyone who has successfully gone over the low water dam in a kayak?  The fall itself doesn't seem bad, it's the hydraulic below that can be a killer.

I believe those that kayak the 'Tulsa Wave' put in below the dam.

All I know is we are taught a very healthy respect for the current and the LWD in the Tulsa Rowing Club.  To date, we've never had a serious accident, that dates back to the early 1980's.  Our "traffic pattern" is modified for different flow rates.  Even at 10,000 CFS, if you row out or motor out in a powered craft and cut the engine, it's impressive how fast you float downstream. 

Yeah, that water below the dams just seems to "roll", I've watched debris just sit there caught in the current.  I'd imagine if you went over that, you'd get caught in that undertow & you're probably not going to get out of it.

 

(http://dsp.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p2327331dt.jpg)

"I think we're going to need a bigger boat" comes to mind here.

Unless the flow rate is essentially static or a bit above I believe you will be asking for trouble in a simple pedal-powered (pond) boat.  If you do venture out I would suggest you immediately attempt to proceed upstream from your launch point and consider any ground gained to be a victory. 

I wanted to suggest a few small sailboats.  My cousin belonged to a sailing club on the Charles River (Boston) in the early 80s.  I think the boats were about 16 to 18 ft but don't remember exactly.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. At that time, if you fell overboard they took you to the hospital due to the river condition.  I think it's much better now. They had made big improvements even by the 80s.  A 5-8 mph current might be a bit much for that type of sailboat.

ALL artists conceptions of river development always show sail boats and marinas as part of the development. Thats just puffing. Curious that I've only seen one little boat on the river in years. A deep keel is a problem here unless the river is high.

I would think once the Sand Springs dam is complete, which is slated to be taller than the current low water dam to hold back more water for downstream releases, that you could sail on the lake behind it.  The river gets very wide just west of Sand Springs and I could imagine this being an area people could boat and even sail.  The ways the hills come right up to the river banks would make this 'lake' pretty scenic and probably safer than on Zink.  Like I've said before a way to get from the 'lakes' in Jenks to Zink to Sand Springs on the water via locks could be utilized in the future.

A Hobie Cat is about the only thing you could get away with on Zink Lake to sail up-stream, and only if the wind is out of the south.  Any of the Sunfish/Laser class boats wouldn't have enough hull speed to overcome the current unless you had a 20-25kt wind if there were much of a current.

I've sailed both a Hobie 14, and 16 in Zink plus a Laser and Windsurfer.  Wind wise 10-15 was perfect for the cat(s).  The Hobie's problem was too slow tacking, you gave up too much ground to the current and with their straight line speed you tacked constantly after getting a head start buck up current.  The Laser was excellent with either a North or South wind except for the dagger board issues.  Handling the current was no issue at all in low flows but at much over power gen flows going upstream would not be productive. 

One of the best performers for reaching back and forth across the lake was a Windsurfer with a good (15-20+) South wind you never really went anywhere but it sure was fun.  Only issue was you needed a helmet and shoes in case you went splat!

The project I'm currently working on is near Lake Hefner in OKC and I constantly see people sailing and kite surfing on this wide open lake, even though swimming is prohibited (it's OKC's drinking water source).  I doubt you could really do anything like that on Arkansas in Tulsa but maybe on the future lake west of Sand Springs where the river is close to 3/4 mile wide and you have winds coming down the canyons off the hills through there.  That's a beautiful area between Sand Springs and Lake Keystone, I hope they someday extend the river trail along the west/south bank up that way.

About the water quality in the Arkansas, is it really that bad?  You can certainly swim in Lake Keystone.  While I can see why they have the river off limits to swimming due to it being a muddy mess with dangerous currents and floating debris, is the actual water quality really that poor?  Say for instance you took a jet ski out there and splashed water on your body/face, maybe even some got in your mouth, would you get sick?  Any more likely than on Lake Keystone, or for that matter Grand Lake/Fort Gibson?

I'm always amazed how clean the Great Lakes look even though they had decades worth of industrial pollution dumped in them, and probably still do today.  People swim in them though, in the summer of course.

Feh, if we get out on a windy day, we can half fill the foot boxes with river water in our rowing shells.  Then when you tip them over to carry them up the ramp, you get a shower.  Otherwise I've been splashed in the ears, eyes, mouth, nose and had my hands, feet, and entire body even immersed a time or two with no deleterious results that I can see.

Don't make it a regular practice, but there's nothing worse in the river water than wound up in it between Leadville, Colo. and here. 

that river water  dislocated your shoulder didnt it?

Don't confuse brown nor the ocassional foam with poor water quality. 

The water quality is rated for the activities you list... "Secondary Body Contact."  However; the discharge standards are essential the same as those for "Primary Body Contact" the reason for the difference was to discourage swimming due to the dangers related to the river not the water quality.

The foam appears when you have rising levels that stir the chlorides (natural salts) up.