Tulsa City Councilor G.T. Bynum presented his new low-water dam proposal to the Arkansas River task force.
It was well-received by Tulsa city and county officials, who focused on the need to discuss how people will access the lakes formed by three dams.
"I mean, today there's kayaking, there's rowing, there's fishing, but there's not a lot of access points, so if we can improve that, that's good," said River Parks Director Matt Meyer. "The water quality's not bad. The raft race is coming back, as you all know, so that'll probably get some publicity."
Bynum wants to cut the Sand Springs and Bixby dams and add one at 49th Street in Tulsa. Zink Dam and a southern dam shared with Jenks are also in the proposal.
Jenks' representatives on the task force voiced concerns about the new proposal. Former Mayor Vic Vreeland said Tulsa is going down a slippery slope.
"You have the opportunity right now to have some say-so in that [Sand Springs] dam," Vreeland said. "What happens if the feds come in and give the money or Sand Springs has a windfall and wins the lottery and down the road they decide they're going to build a dam? And they tell you, 'We're going to give you water, but we have more than we can use,'?"
Vreeland is worried Tulsa and Sand Springs could end up going to court in the future over water in the river.
Jenks City Councilor Lonnie Sims said task force members haven't been working on a multicity plan for two years for nothing.
"And if we think 49th Street is an additional dam that should be added, I think it should be added to the current plan," Sims said. "I don't think we should cut Bixby off, cut Sand Springs off. I think that was not what we were here to do. We were here to do something bold."
Vreeland and Sims want the dams to remain a regional project.
