Arkansas River

[SXSW]

I don't live in Tulsa anymore (hopefully will be back soon though) so I haven't been able to keep with what is going on with the river since the County voted down the last proposal.  Are we still getting low water dams, and if so when are they starting construction?  I would really like to see Tulsa have a system of dams with LOCKS like they have in OKC so boats could ply the waters between Sand Springs and Bixby.  If I remember correctly they didn't want to do locks which I believe would be a HUGE mistake.  Any new information??  What about a new proposal??

[Conan71]

We ostensibly have funding for two dams.  Locks, I don't believe so.  I was not aware that there were locks for boats to pass throuhg on the OK River in OKC.  Only thing I'm aware of is the rowers and recreational boats pretty much stay within the confines of a couple of LWD's.  Someone else feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  Only times I've seen the OK River lately have been for rowing regattas.

[waterboy]

I thought I read that they have some sort of lock system to move boats through. Before they built it I was told they would.

Yes, they are expensive and the sandy river means recurring maintenance but building our dams without them drastically reduces the lakes' potential. Imagine putting in at Sand Springs and stopping at entertainment venues all the way to Jenks ala the Guadalupe river in Austin.

[Conan71]

WB- that wasn't you out kayaking on Sunday between 45th or so and I-44 was it?  I was riding my motorcycle down Riverside about 5pm or so and all the emergency units were rolling and parking at various points along the river so I'm thinking "river rescue of some sort".

I crossed the I-44 bridge, there were two cops with binoculars on the bridge looking north, I passed one of the TFD boats being towed across the bridge with sirens blaring.  About that time I spotted the first kayak, then after turning down Elwood saw the other two.  There were firefighters on the east bank who looked like they might be talking to a couple of the kayakers.

Sure was a big production.  There was nothing on the news about it so I figured an uninformed concerned citizen had phoned in the kayakers.

[TulsaEx]

While I agree that Austin is a great city to use as a model for future development in Tulsa, I feel that it is necessary to say that Austin is on the Colorado River, not the Guadalupe (the Guadalupe runs through New Braunfels) and more importantly though, is that there are three dams along the Colorado River in Austin and none of them have locks.

Having locks in the dams along the Arkansas in Tulsa, however, would be a good thing.

[waterboy]

Thanks, tulsaX. My son described an upcoming trip he is taking on the Guadalupe and wasn't very specific about its location other than near Austin. I should have looked it up.

No, Conan, I was kayaking the Illinois this past weekend. The Arkansas would have been at a reasonable level for kayaks (around 9000cfs) and of course its perfectly legal to float on it. Perhaps they were doing a practice rescue or one of them had a health issue. Any rescue operation is a big deal for them IMO as they have the wrong equipment for this type of river.

For those who complain of the quality of water in the Arkansas, they should note that the Illinois was (poultry runoff) pea green and full of drunken rafters. It was 8inches above normal level. I would guess 4inches was recycled Budweiser.[]

Water may be good this Saturday...you up?

[cannon_fodder]

A lock system would be sweet, but I haven't even heard it talked about until here...

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

A lock system would be sweet, but I haven't even heard it talked about until here...

That illustrates an argument I've made here about the poor participation of "outsiders" in the river development process. Our residents were asked to offer input for development of the river. Since they have no knowledge of what a well developed river might look like or how locks work, it didn't occur to them ask for them. They didn't know what they didn't know.

I personally made the pitch to several of the people at INCOG during different phases of the process. Their response was twofold:

1. No one else has asked for this. (they didn't know they should)
2. It would be too expensive. (if you don't count the opportunity loss of not providing interconnectability).

When they talk development, they mean along the banks, not on the water.

Same offer to you CF. The water should be reasonable on Saturday. Hot too. You up for some slacker paddling? I only have two kayaks so unless I can find another one....

[cannon_fodder]

I'd would definitely be up for it, but alas, I have some friends in town as refugees from Cedar Rapids, IA (offices closed, water and power hit or miss... time for vacation!) ...

I think we may hit the flooded waters of Lake Keystone with some wind power, if the winds would let up a bit for this novice sailor (my boat can handle up to 25 knots sustained winds, but I can't).  Otherwise I may go to Rivers Edge to get drunk and watch the Kayaks.  []

Do you have single or two person boats?  Someday I'd love to take my boy our for a paddle.

[waterboy]

Winds expected to be 10-20 this weekend. Watch out for the floating trees though.

I have one 12ft two person SeaEagle inflatable which is dry and unsinkable and a 8.5 ft hard shell sit on top that rides wet but is quick and manueverable. I am looking for a 12-14ft SOT hard shell as they are faster, can be used as fishing platforms or dual seat.

The river should be subsiding during the next few weeks. Maybe you (with son) and Conan could join me. Of course anyone with a canoe or yak is welcome as well.

I can hear the joke forming in RM's mind..."a Conservative, a Libertarian and a Liberal all flip over their kayaks in a raging river. Which one do you save?"[]

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

Winds expected to be 10-20 this weekend. Watch out for the floating trees though.

I have one 12ft two person SeaEagle inflatable which is dry and unsinkable and a 8.5 ft hard shell sit on top that rides wet but is quick and manueverable. I am looking for a 12-14ft SOT hard shell as they are faster, can be used as fishing platforms or dual seat.

The river should be subsiding during the next few weeks. Maybe you (with son) and Conan could join me. Of course anyone with a canoe or yak is welcome as well.

I can hear the joke forming in RM's mind..."a Conservative, a Libertarian and a Liberal all flip over their kayaks in a raging river. Which one do you save?"[]

I think I would be up for it, what time did you have in mind?  Earlier is probably better for me.

There hadn't been a shell out on the water since the Rte. 66 Regatta on May 31 until Monday or Tues. of this week.  The rowing club had to get an exception from the Corps to lower the flow rate for a day for the regatta.  I got out in a single Tuesday night and was dodging debris constantly.  It was hard to get into a rhythm as I was keeping a vigilant eye out for debris.

We go off the gauge height (I think it's at 11th St. bridge), rather than CFS flow when making go/no-go decisions on rowing.  It's all relative.  

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ok/nwis/uv/?site_no=07164500&

[sauerkraut]

Hey Gang, How is that new RiverSide jogging trail coming along? I understand they rebuilt some of it. I have not been in Tulsa for awhile. Did they rebuild that whole trail yet? I heard that they will rebuild it in sections. It really needed a overhaul the pavement was worn and badly cracked. Tulsa Rockz![]

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

Hey Gang, How is that new RiverSide jogging trail coming along? I understand they rebuilt some of it. I have not been in Tulsa for awhile. Did they rebuild that whole trail yet? I heard that they will rebuild it in sections. It really needed a overhaul the pavement was worn and badly cracked. Tulsa Rockz![]

I rode from the Riverwest Festival Park (where hey have Oktoberfest) south on the west side across the 71st St. bridge and back up to 21st last night.  They've completed the I-44 to 71st expansion (parallels the train tracks).  No improvements as of yet from 71st to 51st on the east side, but 51st to 31st is now closed for those improvements.  31st to 21st on the east side is done(two trails most of the way), and I think 21st to 11th is finished or really close.  

That made it a more of a challege getting from 51st to 31st last night navigating the neighborhoods instead of the direct route the trails offers.  There were tons of people out last night, especially north of 31st St.  I think the improvements have gotten more people interested in the river.

[SXSW]

Oklahoma City does have locks, and so should Tulsa.  Can you imagine the popularity of a boat on the Arkansas like OKC's Devon Discovery between Sand Springs, downtown, Turkey Mtn., and the Riverwalk??

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080425_12_OKLAH57076

The Oklahoma City mayor said "We never did envision boats going up and down (the river)," Norick said. "I don't think any of us envisioned at that time what our downtown would look like."  Where is this vision in Tulsa??

[cannon_fodder]

I'd be up for it some weekend for sure.  I tried to get my old man's canoe - which hasnt been used since I left for college some time ago.  But, he assured me, he is going to start using it now.  [xx(]