It’s about dam time in Tulsa, as the city prepares to open Zink Lake to the public on Labor Day weekend. Before inviting people to have fun on and around the water, the city has announced a plan to monitor pollution in the new lake and whitewater flume being constructed along Riverside Drive near the Gathering Place.
A public meeting is slated for Feb. 27 at the Gathering Place so residents can see plans themselves and comment. The city says more public engagement opportunities will be advertised as the holiday weekend opening approaches.
At Wednesday’s meeting of Tulsa City Council's Public Works Committee, Water and Sewer Department Director Eric Lee gave an update on the $48 million project, explaining the city's water quality testing regiment to councilors.
“One of the things, obviously, that people are concerned about is water quality in the Arkansas River,” Lee said.
Lee said the city’s water quality testing data will be made available to the public via an online dashboard.
“When people see that… people are smart, they can make their own informed decisions on what they want to do as far as recreating within the Arkansas River,” he said.
Lee told city council that the real-time nature of the testing regiment will be a first in the state.
The city has an internal lab that will test water quality on a regular basis, with differing frequencies for different hazards.
The city plans on closing the Zink Dam in March to begin amassing the water needed for the man-made lake.
Throughout planning and construction of the dam, Tulsans have raised concerns about setting up a water recreation facility in that location.
As recently as 2022, the section of the Arkansas River that will become Zink Lake had too much cadmium to be considered fishable and swimmable under the Clean Water Act. Cadmium is a heavy metal — an excess of it can harm wildlife and contribute to kidney problems and low bone density in people.
Last year, the city promised to start monitoring water quality in the river as soon as the HollyFrontier Sinclair Refinery finished a streambank stabilization project just upstream of the dam. That refinery is one entity that has a permit to discharge wastewater into the river as long as it meets quality standards. There are about 20 discharge permits held by refineries, manufacturers and municipal wastewater treatment plants between Keystone Dam and Zink Dam.
Excitement builds for officials
In an interview with the Tulsa World, Mayor G.T. Bynum said he got “emotional” when taking his family holiday picture on the pedestrian walkway.
He also tried reassuring Tulsans that the water in the river would be safe for recreation.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Councilor Lori Decter Wright said she was “a little bit excited” that Tulsa would be leading the state with real-time water quality data.
The project was approved by voters in 2016 as part of the city’s Vision Tulsa tax initiative.
