River Parks Authority

PROJECT PURPOSE

The project goal is to repair damage caused by flooding. In June 2019, the Arkansas River flood waters damaged an earthen berm on the West Bank Sports Complex property owned by River Parks Authority. Reconstruction of the berm is recommended to protect the neighborhood as well as businesses just west of the Sports Complex. River Parks Authority owns the 46-acre West Bank Sports Complex located on the west bank of the Arkansas River at 36th and South Elwood. The property is leased to the Tulsa Field Sports Alliance (TSFA) which operates the facility at no cost to tax-payers. TSFA devotes part of its team sports programs to reaching under-served families in the neighborhood nearby and furnishing the uniforms and equipment that disadvantaged families often cannot afford to provide for their children. During the flooding in 2019, the berm was temporarily repaired, but to protect the neighborhood business and homes it will need to be permanently repaired. It is not a question of ?if?' the berm will be needed in the future to hold back flood waters, it is ?when.? The City of Tulsa has committed $1M towards this project.

EVIDENCE

Validation of the importance of this project can most easily be found in pictures. The flood of 2019 was dramatic, causing millions in significant damage from Sand Springs to Tulsa to Jenks to Broken Arrow. Neighborhoods were overrun with water; houses were flooded leaving residents displaced; businesses were closed and/or damaged; and communities came to a standstill. To prevent this devastation from happening in the future, the West Bank Berm development needs funding to protect it?s neighborhood, it?s businesses and its people.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

COVID-19 has been particularly damaging to those communities already experiencing health and economic disparities, similar to the neighborhood west of the West Bank Berm. It is primarily industrial with a small number of residential homes. The area could be eligible for designation as a QCT because of the tract median household income, however there are tracts in Tulsa with higher poverty rates and lower median income in relation to population. Regardless of these statistics, this is still a neighborhood that has incurred economic hardships as a result of the flood of 2019 followed by a pandemic; and this is still a neighborhood that deserves to be protected from the devastating losses that can result from additional flooding. Currently, there is 5500 feet of river front property that has slipped through the cracks of the QCT and the Tulsa County levy system of financial support, but still needs protection.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Unfortunately in this case, project success can not be definitively measured until it is needed during high waters in the Arkansas River. However, to ensure success as well as the value of the project, a new, more substantial berm has been designed by a professional engineer with expertise in river hydrology. This engineer has extensive knowledge of the Arkansas River, its flood history, its associated geographic and physical features, and its water management practices by the US Army Corp of Engineers and the Southwest Power Administration, federal Department of Energy.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

One-time project will not need continued funding