I haven't decided if I support the new islands in the stream concept or not. But I do take issue with what has been released in the World. For what it is worth I listed some issues they will have to deal with that come from my experience running tour boats on the Arkansas for three summers.
The hidden costs of "islands in the stream".
-Cost of providing police and fire services. Will have to be dual access service from both the water and the causeways. The current services will not be able to provide for an inner city lake and insurance companies are going to notice that. If private boats are allowed, plan for major increases in police and fire rescue operations.
-Since the river is now a navigable waterway with ports along its 10 mile length, it will come under the auspices of the US Coast Guard. Yet another layer of bureauracracy added to: Levee district, Highway patrol lakeshore division, Tulsa County Sheriff, TPD, River Parks Authority, City of Sand Springs to name a few. This is no small thing. Coast Guard regs are serious stuff and expensive to meet.
-The refinery will have to be closed, moved, blown up...something. Not only will the water rise over its banks but its smell and lovely visage won't be accepted by multi-use affluent tenants on the islands.
-the loss of refinery jobs will reverberate through West tulsa. No need for the storage tank farms either so plan on paying Sunoco, Texaco, and the tank farm owners big $ for their now valuable lake front property.
-Re-routing or removal of oil pipelines, sanitary sewer lines and electrical lines that criss cross the river in that area. One high voltage line that crosses is already just 6ft off the water during evening flows.
-Private land buyouts. One property owner along the river in that area has a deed showing ownership of three islands granted to him by the Corps when the dam was built. Think he'll sell cheap? And he is one of many private owners along there who will need to be bought out or reimbursed for increased insurance costs.
-Two of the industrial owners along that stretch are Baker Petrolite who manufactures the explosives used in well drilling and the Sand Springs sewage treatment plant. Increased water levels will require strengthening and raising the levees there. One wonders about the logic of having explosive compounds near a levee.
-When Creek indians were chased by Confederate soldiers across this area from the west, they were cornered by the troops in the area where the Sun refinery now sits. The rebs, thinking they had them captured because of the river nearby, camped out for the evening and planned to finish up in the morning. When they awakened, the indians were gone. Having hunted and fished the area, the Indians knew about the rock crossing at that point. It is a slip fault that creates a small set of rapids that goes all the way across the river. They literally, "knew where the rocks were" and walked across during the night. Later settlers used the outcropping as the only sure place to cross the river. When the water is up they make fantastic kayaking waves. This history and this opportunity for pleasure will now be at least 10 ft under water.
-It has been reported that there is a potential pre-historic mammoth pit in the area also but no attempts have been made to explore it as to not risk a possible oil spill from old refinery operations.
I would love to operate deep water craft in this lake. Of course it won't stay deep for very long, but the positives are obvious. These are some of the costs that are not apparent at first glance. They will become all too real if such a large dam is built.
There are more, but why give them too much for free?
