Fishers Concerned About Impact Of New Zink Dam

Tulsa fishermen and wildlife experts are worried a new dam under construction next to the Gathering place in the Arkansas River won't let fish pass through as they thought.

But the city engineer said this new dam is going to fix a lot of problems, including fish migration.

The city said the new Zink Dam will be able to open and close to let fish and sediment pass through.

Wildlife conservationists said they want those gates to be down for several months during spawning season, but the city says that's just not possible.

The new Zink Dam has been under construction for a year now. Engineers are building 15 gates, which is more than the dam's current three.

The city said the dam will fix big problems like safety.

The gates can go up and down-- a new feature.

We’ve got a new Zink Dam that can lay gates down all the ways of the bottom," said Josh Johnston. "That can allow for 17 more miles of stream.”

Josh Johnston with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation spoke at Wednesday's public works committee meeting, where many fishers were in attendance.

Those anglers want to see the gates of the dam down for three to four months of the year so fish can migrate and spawn.

“We’ve got native fish here and non-native striped bass that all require unobstructed flow," Johnston said.

City Engineer Paul Zachary said the Army Corps of Engineers controls the water flow and keeping the gates down all that time would be bad for the river and for other stakeholders including PSO, Tulsa rowers, and Gathering place.

"We’ll end up with a drained lake and something not good ecologically if there are no releases from Keystone," Zachary said.

Zachary said the city has agreed to open the gates during high releases from Keystone, which would let fish go through. He said this is part of an agreement with the federal government and wildlife department.

"We are doing some of the very things you're asking for, but to ask for a total no dam option is not possible," said Zachary.

City councilwoman Kara Joy McKee said she hopes to find a solution to benefit everyone, and the ecosystem, so she's going to schedule a public meeting in the coming months.

The city also says it's working to keep those gates down as much as possible.