By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
JET —
Dredging Great Salt Plains Lake will cost millions, and part of the bill would have to be paid by partners, said Ross Adkins of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Dredging the lake to make it more suitable for recreational use is one of the options discussed during public meetings on the future of the area. The Corps of Engineers is putting together an initial appraisal of the conditions and operations of the lake and surrounding recreational areas. It then will do a reconnaissance study, which could take up to a year to complete.
The third step in the process is doing a feasibility study, lasting up to 36 months. When that time frame is over, the Corps will implement its plan for usage of the lake.
Adkins said Wednesday it is hard to say what the lake appraisal outcome will be.
“It will cost millions. We’re trying to figure out how much it will cost and come up with a ballpark figure,” Adkins said about dredging the lake.
The appraisal is done on Corps properties where there is a need to determine if the property is meeting its intent. At some point all Corps projects will undergo such an appraisal, he said.
“A number were built with what they call an economic life. That is 50 or 100 years,” he said. “You can’t predict what it will be until you see changes taking place.”
The Tulsa-based Corps oversees 38 lakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas, plus five locks and dams on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
Adkins said Optima Lake currently is undergoing the same type of evaluation as Great Salt Plains Lake and has not been de-commissioned. Some of the recreational equipment was moved due to vandalism, he said.
During a meeting Tuesday in Jet, Patti Wilber, a member of Great Salt Plains Lake Association, said Optima had been decommissioned by the Corps.
“There are many differences between the two lakes,” Adkins said.
He could not say how long the appraisal process would take. He said anything that is done to the lake will take some “partners.”
At Tuesday’s meeting in Jet, supporters of the lake discussed forming a Friends of Great Salt Plains Lake organization and joining Friends of the Refuge, a national organization. By becoming part of the national organization, supporters believe they will be eligible for grants to help with their costs.
The lake, which was built in 1941, is the largest water attraction in northwest Oklahoma, Wilber said. The areas of concern are the lake, dam, spillway, outlet works, surrounding land to the top of the flood control pool and Corps of Engineers land, including land leased to the state for the park, she said. The lake has prevented an estimated $239 million in flood damages since 1941 and continues to provide downstream flood protection, according to the Corps of Engineers.
One alternative is to dredge the lake to increase pool depth. Doing that would remove some sediment from the lake and provide for a beneficial use of dredged materials, including increasing the size of the state park, refuge and surrounding areas, building islands, increasing shoreline height for wildlife management, building roads and enhancing agricultural lands.
Another alternative is for the late to be operated strictly as a wildlife area. It would be solely for wildlife and non-aquatic recreation, Wilber said. The state park would maintain leases, recreation would be changed to non-aquatic, she said, and flood control and fishing uses would no longer be part of the project.
