Kaiser Part Deux

[waterboy]

River Corridor Plan: Group wants to put life, water into river
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
2/11/2007

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Kaiser offers to back planning

A Tulsa foundation is developing plans to transform four miles of the Arkansas River into a "living river" with concentrated, moving water even during low flows.

"Tulsans have repeatedly expressed their opinion that the river is probably the most important civic enhancement project that can be done," said George Kaiser, primary benefactor of the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

The foundation is ready to back engineering plans on the concept, Kaiser and his team of planners told the Tulsa World last week.

On Friday, the foundation announced a $12.4 million gift to the River Parks Authority to create a premier trail system from 11th to 71st streets on both sides of the river.

The gift -- the largest private gift to the authority in its 32-year history -- is the first of three elements in the George Kaiser Family Foundation's plan to revitalize the Arkansas River.

The second and third elements are:


Making sure the river has visible, concentrated water in it all the time and attractive river banks.


Building privately sponsored public gathering spots along the river.

The foundation has been researching  

ways to put water into the river to create a more aesthetic, exciting and compelling place for people to come and socialize.

To make the river more attractive for future public amenities and private development, "we have to unite the braided streams," Kaiser said.

One possibility could be the creation of a "living river," a conceptual idea that came from Colorado State University, said Elizabeth Shreeve, a principal with SWA, a California architectural and urban design firm.

SWA was hired by the Kaiser Foundation and is working with Canadian architect Bing Thom and Tulsa engineering firm The Benham Cos. to design a plan that would keep water flowing all the time in the river from below Zink Dam at 29th Street to 71st Street.

Water in the river: One engineering concept under consideration would keep the river banks intact but would concentrate the water flow into a defined, narrower channel that meanders through the current river bed.

The water flow in the river ranges from 150 to 19,000 cubic feet per second, depending on releases from Keystone Dam.

During the lowest flow, there is still water in the river but it is spread over the 1,500-foot-wide channel, exposing much of the river bottom and allowing water to pool in some places and become stagnant.

Concentrating the water at low flow into a 500-foot-wide defined natural channel would create a constant flow, Shreeve said.

During times of heavier water flow, the river would be free to flow through its entire current area, she said.

In its preliminary stages, the idea should be compatible with a low-water dam planned in Jenks, which is expected to back water up to near 71st Street, as well as a low-water dam under consideration for Sand Springs, she said.

During low flow, the rest of the river bed would be an environmental corridor with sandbars and some vegetation that could be seen from either bank, but nothing that would obstruct flood flow levels, Shreeve said.

This concept would allow the stabilized river channel to be a "recreational zone" that could be navigable with a small craft such as canoe or kayak, she said.

"You could take a canoe at 31st Street and spend the day going down the river, then drop the canoe off at 71st Street and rent a bike and ride back on the new, improved trail system," she said.

The plan also would not affect the "Tulsa Wave," an area of the river popular with kayakers, she said.

Community gathering spots: The Kaiser plan envisions public gathering areas near major arterial streets that end at Riverside Drive -- 31st, 36th, 41st, 61st and 71st streets. Focal points would be developed on both sides of the river, where practical.

The beginnings of some of those spots are already in place, but the plan would create a unified design and feel to the spots and bring in additional "nodes."

Kaiser said there have been preliminary discussions with the private sector about adopting those designated areas to create structures and facilities or building off what is already there.

With the current River Parks amenities at some of those locations, there is "no architectural aesthetic consistency that lets you know you are there," Shreeve said.

"We need to create a stronger and more vital image of gathering spots," she said. "This is about experiencing the river, something that is going to bring people to the river."

One possible idea would be a water play garden at 41st Street to complement a playground, she said.

The playground would be interactive, where children can touch and play with water, along with the addition of climbing walls, she said.

There also are ideas of bringing pier structures and towers to some of the other gathering areas and possibly adding pedestrian bridges that would give access across the river at 41st Street to the soccer complex or at 61st Street to access Turkey Mountain.

There also could be a deck added to the existing pedestrian bridge that separates bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Funding undetermined: While the foundation is helping to secure engineering studies, actually modifying the river bed and constructing new bridges would be a major public construction project requiring public input and investment, officials all agree.

Because the engineering has not yet been conducted, it is too early to estimate costs, said Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Once the cost is determined, and the public decides it wants to move forward, then an analysis could take place to determine a way of paying for it, she said.

Important issues to be decided would include whether the project would be funded with sales taxes or some other form of funding and whether any funding would be a city initiative or part of a broader county project.

Taylor said it will be up to the elected officials to determine the public funding source or sources.

County Commissioners Randi Miller and Fred Perry said they stand ready to support the effort if the public wants it.

Not a promise, just an idea: "I caution everyone that this has not been studied fully, and we don't want to promise something that doesn't work out in this fashion," Kaiser said.

The next stage is to find an engineering firm that has expertise with prairie-style rivers to determine whether the plan is feasible and economically sound.

When the preliminary engineering is complete, then the plan will be given to the public to critique.

Kaiser said once all of the engineering is finished and the plan is determined to be feasible and costs are gathered, the public will have to decide one question: "Does it yield the most attractive result for an appropriate cost?"

Shreeve said that if the engineers say the concept of a living river is not feasible, "we'll go back and look at other ways to bring water into the river."

Taylor said all the mayors along the river agree that the highest priority is getting water in the river.

"Everyone is doing what is necessary to ensure we have prepared the palette for responsible development of the river. This is the first step. This is an exciting step," she said.

Miller agreed, saying this "is the beginning of what will spur river development now and for the next five years. If we have the Kaiser plan, whatever that ends up being, then we have water in the river and then private development can happen."

[waterboy]

Just when you think the little guy has no impact on the world.

Recipe for River Development:
 Ingredients-
  1.Canadian architect for cachet
  2.California design group for respect
  3.Out of state college to create snappy, marketable description (living river)

Mix together with local newspaper, established wealth (for naming rights) and respectable foundation in equal parts to come up with what we have known in our hearts and discussed locally for several years. Present to voters with political heat. Will serve appx. 3/4 million.

Or as has been noted before on this site, Channelize it, dredge it, direct it, keep its natural functions operating and make it available to the public.

[CoffeeBean]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy


Concentrating the water at low flow into a 500-foot-wide defined natural channel would create a constant flow, Shreeve said.

does this impact pollution levels?

[RecycleMichael]

Everything impacts pollution levels. The solution to pollution is dilution. The river is getting cleaned up, no matter what plan is followed.

I think a five hundred foot defined channel is an interesting idea. It will be like a wide sandy beach during low flows (most of the time). I can see all types of opportunities to play on the sand.

We used to go to an area up north of Seattle called "Useless Bay" on Whidbey Island. It is called useless because it is too shallow to bring in big boats. At low tide, you can walk out almost a mile out in the bay, At high tide, the water came right up the banks by the houses. It was great to take my kids out on the floor of Puget Sound to talk about nature and how water is part of our lives.  

Dredging for a new channel will also be an opportunity to clean up debris.

Keeping the banks in place will address the flooding capacity issue. Adding large gathering places will attract more users to our river. Adding wider trails will even atract new users, including making it more of a bike transportation corridor and not just a recreation area.

I look forward to getting more details, but I like what I have heard so far.

[USRufnex]

"On Friday, the foundation announced a $12.4 million gift to the River Parks Authority to create a premier trail system from 11th to 71st streets on both sides of the river.

I hope this is only one part of what Bing Thom was paid for.... since he did get a $10M grant from the Kaiser Foundation for river plans (completely separate from what he was paid for his work on The Channels).

Nice work if you can get it.

[aoxamaxoa]

Mr. Kaiser actually gave an interview!

It's quite different than The Channels approach.

More realistic and doable.

I think it's the best a city could do under the current environment.

Tulsa is very lucky to have such a brilliant, wealthy, and compassionate civic minded man in our midst.

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by aoxamaxoa

Mr. Kaiser actually gave an interview!

It's quite different than The Channels approach.

More realistic and doable.

I think it's the best a city could do under the current environment.

Tulsa is very lucky to have such a brilliant, wealthy, and compassionate civic minded man in our midst.

Yes, its pragmatic and matches our wants closer to our abilities. I also like the way we can improve the river itself a segment at a time. These are common sense attitudes.

I thought the headline was a misrepresentation of the plan however. Its not so much that additionaal water will be put into the river. It means the water flowing through the river will be better utilized. Some new water may eventually be secured through a network of feeder creeks (Crow, Cherry, etc.) but that's the part that needs much more study.

[TheArtist]

I really like a lot of what I am reading about this plan.  The first stage of the dual trails and landscaping is great.  The additional stages with water features, architectural elements, a restaurant or two and definitely the new pedestrian bridges will be very very welcome.  

The idea of having low water dams is of course positive and hopefully it won't take too many years before they can begin to be put in.  The one thing I am very curious about is the defined narrower channels idea.  Hadn't thought of that before, sounds interesting, but am curious as to how such a thing could work?  The river, even when its running slowly, naturally meanders within the sandy river bed area.  you could dredge out a 500' channel in the sand, but the river is still going to meander and in no time at all it would be back just like it is.  How could you prevent it from meandering?  Even if you somehow hardened the narrower channel with rocks, plantings or whatever The next heavy rain would undermine all of that work and you could find your "smaller river" flowing through the sand on the other side of your hardened banks, or not have any hardened banks left lol. I am supposing the people at Colorado State have some ideas, but I for the life of me don't have a clue as to how something like that could actually work.  Don't get me wrong, would love to see it happen, sounds really neat, but I am a bit perplexed at how it could work and even Kaiser caveats that it may not be possible. Any ideas?

Even if it in the end that one idea can't work, all the rest of the things will greatly improve the River Parks.  When do we get started on the first phase? []

[waterboy]

Here's a tip as to how it would work. There is always a little water flow in the river. Some from the Keystone Dam, some from area creeks, some from drainage pipes and some from springs. Note the area below Turkey Mountain. It always has water in it when the rest of the river is dry. Why? Because the riverbed slants to that side. It is lower on that side and any water in the river naturally seeks its lowest point.

The suggestion is to re-direct that water by either digging a new deeper channel presumably on the east side, filling in the low area, or re-directing the flow using one of several methods (temporary dam or wing dam). You may have noticed the jetty below the PSO plant that directs water to the west side of the river below the pedestrian bridge. That is a redirected flow. Because of that jetty, the new channel is faster and naturally keeps the channel free of silt. It may need occasional scouring or dredging. The river between the pedestrian bridge and 71st does not meander so much because it is fairly straight and slightly dropping. It should work well there.

I love the idea of only hardening the east bank side so the river remains fairly natural.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

Here's a tip as to how it would work. There is always a little water flow in the river. Some from the Keystone Dam, some from area creeks, some from drainage pipes and some from springs. Note the area below Turkey Mountain. It always has water in it when the rest of the river is dry. Why? Because the riverbed slants to that side. It is lower on that side and any water in the river naturally seeks its lowest point.

The suggestion is to re-direct that water by either digging a new deeper channel presumably on the east side, filling in the low area, or re-directing the flow using one of several methods (temporary dam or wing dam). You may have noticed the jetty below the PSO plant that directs water to the west side of the river below the pedestrian bridge. That is a redirected flow. Because of that jetty, the new channel is faster and naturally keeps the channel free of silt. It may need occasional scouring or dredging. The river between the pedestrian bridge and 71st does not meander so much because it is fairly straight and slightly dropping. It should work well there.

I love the idea of only hardening the east bank side so the river remains fairly natural.

Now I get the temporary dam and wing dam approach for redirecting the river, but the part about the river being nearer to turkey mountain because the riverbed slants to that side, part I dont really get. I assume the riverbed is stone, the river meanders through the sand and if it flows enough it will hit the riverbed, the stone underneath the sand, and then start to meander to the lowest part of that stone.  If the riverbed or stone below the sand is flat, obviously sloping towards the sea a bit lol, then the river will meander in the sand between the shores.  Soooo in order to redirect or keep the river in another area, that would mean you would have to basically carve out the stone under the sand so that the riverbed was lower where you wanted the river to flow?  That don't sound easy.  But if it is just the sand that you are talking about as being the riverbed, well the lowest part of the sand will meander where the larger flows go and then when the flow is less it will of course be more confined to that area until larger flows carve out more meanders in different areas, especially if that area is flatter and thus more likely for the larger flows to not favor one side or another.  

Now if I remember my 8th grade geology lol.  Rivers, small and large, that meander, do so because water in an area on the outside of a curve goes faster, thus carving out the sand "in this case" more to that direction. Plus the water going on the opposite side is going slower and thus tends to deposit silt and sand on that side.  Whenever an obstruction occurs, whether a rock, tree, or whatever, the water hits that, then may go around it or if flowing slower in a smaller amount of water may deflect off it starting the meander off towards the opposite direction. This is especially true in many parts of our river where if you were to look at photos you would see that in many places the small flows are all over the place within the riverbed.  I am sure you will correct me if I am not completely right Waterboy lol

[USRufnex]

quote:Originally posted by aoxamaxoa

Mr. Kaiser actually gave an interview!

It's quite different than The Channels approach.

More realistic and doable.

I think it's the best a city could do under the current environment.

Tulsa is very lucky to have such a shrewd businessman and compassionate civic minded man in our midst.

Fixed your post.  []

Actually, there's a 30 min(?) Oklahoma PBS show that chronicles some of Tulsa's past history and philanthropy.  George Kaiser is prominently interviewed in the course of it... and it'll probably be shown a lot more times over the course of the next few months...

Time will tell whether Kaiser turns out to be more saint than sinner, but it does appear the $12.4 million could be the tip of the iceburg...

http://www.ncrp.org/042505.asp

quote:Mr. Kaiser, known around Tulsa for driving used cars and living in a modest house, has protected his wealth by being savvy about taxes - when he pays them at all. During a stretch of the late 1980's and early 1990's, he paid just $2,688 in federal income taxes, claiming negative income in six out of seven years.

When the I.R.S. sought $49 million in back taxes and penalties, he fought and wound up paying only $11,000 more.

In the same period, he assembled a fortune by snapping up failed petroleum businesses in Oklahoma and one of their biggest lenders, the Bank of Oklahoma. He then used those businesses' operating losses and a keen understanding of tax law to keep virtually all the profits.

His tight-fisted approach to taxes did not extend to charity. For years, the Betty and George Kaiser Foundation, a private foundation established by Mr. Kaiser and his late wife, made the required payout to dozens of charities, including the Tulsa Area United Way and Harvard University, his alma mater.

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

Here's a tip as to how it would work. There is always a little water flow in the river. Some from the Keystone Dam, some from area creeks, some from drainage pipes and some from springs. Note the area below Turkey Mountain. It always has water in it when the rest of the river is dry. Why? Because the riverbed slants to that side. It is lower on that side and any water in the river naturally seeks its lowest point.

The suggestion is to re-direct that water by either digging a new deeper channel presumably on the east side, filling in the low area, or re-directing the flow using one of several methods (temporary dam or wing dam). You may have noticed the jetty below the PSO plant that directs water to the west side of the river below the pedestrian bridge. That is a redirected flow. Because of that jetty, the new channel is faster and naturally keeps the channel free of silt. It may need occasional scouring or dredging. The river between the pedestrian bridge and 71st does not meander so much because it is fairly straight and slightly dropping. It should work well there.

I love the idea of only hardening the east bank side so the river remains fairly natural.

Now I get the temporary dam and wing dam approach for redirecting the river, but the part about the river being nearer to turkey mountain because the riverbed slants to that side, part I dont really get. I assume the riverbed is stone, the river meanders through the sand and if it flows enough it will hit the riverbed, the stone underneath the sand, and then start to meander to the lowest part of that stone.  If the riverbed or stone below the sand is flat, obviously sloping towards the sea a bit lol, then the river will meander in the sand between the shores.  Soooo in order to redirect or keep the river in another area, that would mean you would have to basically carve out the stone under the sand so that the riverbed was lower where you wanted the river to flow?  That don't sound easy.  But if it is just the sand that you are talking about as being the riverbed, well the lowest part of the sand will meander where the larger flows go and then when the flow is less it will of course be more confined to that area until larger flows carve out more meanders in different areas, especially if that area is flatter and thus more likely for the larger flows to not favor one side or another.  

Now if I remember my 8th grade geology lol.  Rivers, small and large, that meander, do so because water in an area on the outside of a curve goes faster, thus carving out the sand "in this case" more to that direction. Plus the water going on the opposite side is going slower and thus tends to deposit silt and sand on that side.  Whenever an obstruction occurs, whether a rock, tree, or whatever, the water hits that, then may go around it or if flowing slower in a smaller amount of water may deflect off it starting the meander off towards the opposite direction. This is especially true in many parts of our river where if you were to look at photos you would see that in many places the small flows are all over the place within the riverbed.  I am sure you will correct me if I am not completely right Waterboy lol

Thats very confusing. What you describe is more likely seen between Newblock park and Sand Springs. Lots of crazy meandering over there. And forget the word slant. Think levels.

First lets start with the assumption that the bed is stone. If you go deep enough everything is stone. But go farther upstream and look at what happens between 11th & 21st. The east side of the river basin is stone and sits higher than the west side. So the river naturally flows to the west side. When the water flow in the river is down, its the west side that keeps flowing. Now it may meander a bit back and forth on the west side but for the most part the speed keeps it following a natural channel. I got to learn that channel real well after hitting props with my pontoon boat.

Remember that its the slowing of the river that lets the silt settle out of the water and build sand bars. As long as its moving its in suspension. That may explain why there is sedimentary stone on the east side too. It has more chance to deposit, dry-out, bake, deposit, dry out, bake. Meanwhile the west side is busy moving, carving a deeper channel.

The same thing is happening below Turkey Mtn. It is naturally lower on the west side so there is always some flow there. The east side actually builds sand because even when the water flow is greater, that side is somewhat slower moving. In this case it is not so much a factor of meandering as it is level.

So you either fill the existing low area on the west side thereby making the east side lower or you redirect the flow using a dam of some sort and let the water carve a new channel on the east side or if you're in a hurry, dredge the channel yourself.

I agree that if you run into stone on the east side between 31st & 71st you will have a problem dredging. In that case you dam and fill the west side, artificially raising it. A wing dam actually accomplishes that for you over time as it builds land upstream of its placement. Both of these methods has little effect on the river during high flows as you're not changing much of its capacity, just re-directing it.

Does that make sense? Just think about how you made rivers in your yard as a kid and directed the water using mud, spades and sticks.

[waterboy]

BTW I know of at least two wing dams currently on the river. One is the jetty that PSO constructed to maintain a constant source of water below the power plant. The other is between Newblock park and Chandler Park on the north side of the river. Although the PSO dam is rock debris, the other one is merely posts driven into the river and looks like a fence. They both work well. PSO directs the fast water towards the bank while the other one directs it towards the middle of the river.

Wikipedia has a good description.