First look at plan to get, keep water in the Arkansas River

A task force was formed at the end of 2013 to come up with a plan to improve the Arkansas River in Tulsa.

The Arkansas River Infrastructure Task Force, chaired by Tulsa City Councilor G.T. Bynum, has a first-draft proposal ready to share with the public.

The plan would be to build three new low-water dams in the river, one near Sand Springs, one in the south Tulsa/Jenks area and a third in Bixby.

The new dams would take up much of the $300 million dollars needed to execute the plan.

The rest would go toward updating the existing Zink Dam and the levee system.

Other funding would be used to operate and maintain the new dams.

All this money would come from a 0.3 percent sales tax, which is half of the expiring Vision 2025 tax.

Five meetings are planned around Tulsa to let the public give feedback.

• Wednesday, June 10; Districts 5 & 6; Martin Regional Library; 2601 S. Garnett Road
• Monday, June 15; Districts 7 & 8; Hardesty Regional Library; 8316 E. 93rd St.
• Monday, June 22; Districts 1 & 3; Rudisill Regional Library; 1520 N. Hartford Ave.
• Monday, June 29; Districts 2 & 9; Jewish Federation of Tulsa; 2021 E. 71st St.
• Wednesday, July 1; District 4 & Citywide; Perkins Family Auditorium - OU-Tulsa Learning Center; 4502 E. 41st St.