Tulsa’s river task force has a comprehensive report on what it will cost to build a series of low-water dams and put water in the Arkansas River.
The best estimate is building three low-water dams and renovating Zink Dam will cost $ 316 million. At a total cost of almost $108 million, Sand Springs’ dam will be the most expensive.
Murry Fleming with consulting firm CH2M Hill said this estimate has very specific infrastructure in mind.
"The bridges are austere, functional, 20-foot-wide paths," Fleming said. "There's no signature bridges. There are no restaurants out in the middle of the river."
The estimate covers the cost of construction, design, permits, land acquisition and any necessary mitigation projects. Fleming's firm also calculated the annual cost of routine maintenance.
"On a yearly basis, the sinking fund contribution is about $800,000 — to put something away every year so that you can pay for things in the future," Fleming said.
The sinking fund would go toward things such as replacing the air bladders that would move the dams’ gates. That should happen about every 30 years. Annual operating costs will be $1.5 million.
City Councilor G.T. Bynum said these aren’t just numbers out of a hat.
"It is something that they've developed with the oversight of all the members of the board of the working group, all the city engineers, the private sector," Bynum said.
The firm’s timeline has work on Zink and a Jenks dam starting first, in 2019.
