Did you know a low-water dam is still in the works for Sand Springs?
Tulsa County Commissioners approved a sponsor agreement for it this week with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It’s a reminder the county can pay for the project and a commitment to preserve any historically significant finds during construction.
"I like to tell everybody that this is, like, a 50 step process and this is step No. 25 of that 50 step process, so I'd say we're a little bit more than halfway there — just barely — on getting this to fruition," said District Two Chief Deputy John Fothergill.
A Sand Springs low-water dam was in the original Vision sales tax package.
"This is the final part of that, to get the planning, engineering and design — or PED process, as the Corps calls it — going, so this is the last preliminary step before we actually get to the good stuff," Fothergill said.
The low-water dam is the main component of the Corps’ ecosystem restoration plan for the Arkansas River just past Keystone Dam.
In addition to a dam below the Highway 97 bridge, the plan calls for wetland restoration at Prattville Creek and construction of a sandbar island.