{"id":25195,"date":"2015-10-08T06:40:59","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T11:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=25195"},"modified":"2015-10-12T14:57:24","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T19:57:24","slug":"tulsa-area-leaders-push-to-change-the-arkansas-rivers-tainted-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/10\/08\/tulsa-area-leaders-push-to-change-the-arkansas-rivers-tainted-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Tulsa Area Leaders Push To Change The Arkansas River&#8217;s Tainted Image"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_25232\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25232\" alt=\"The Arkansas River in Tulsa, Okla.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver1-e1444678740711.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver1-e1444678740711.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver1-e1444678740711-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver1-e1444678740711-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver1-e1444678740711-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Arkansas River in Tulsa, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>It\u2019s been decades since Tulsa officials decided the portion of the Arkansas River that runs through the city was too dirty and dangerous to swim in. The river is much cleaner now, but convincing the public it\u2019s safe for swimming won\u2019t be easy.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/227446354&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more-->The Arkansas River is an iconic feature of Tulsa, cutting across downtown and winding through the west side of the city. But it has a bad reputation.<\/p><p>\u201cConsidering there\u2019s a treatment plant right over there, I wouldn\u2019t go swimming in the river,\u201d Tulsa resident Steve Smith says as he finishes his walk at the 41st\u00a0Street Plaza, one of the popular parks along the river.<\/p><p>\u201cI\u2019d be kind of scared to go into the river,\u201d Julianne Romanello says.<\/p><p>The joggers, bicyclists, disc golfers and dog walkers at this park like being near the river, but not in it.<\/p>\n<h3>Recreation discouraged<\/h3><p>This part of the river used to be a recreational hot spot \u2014 it even had a signature annual event: the Great Raft Race. It was a huge attraction in the &#8217;70s and &#8217;80s.<\/p><p>But by the mid-&#8217;80s, concerns about pollution and contamination caught up with the river. Local governments discouraged river recreation and told people to avoid contact with the Arkansas. Vernon Seaman is with the Indian Nations Council of Governments. He says, at the time, there was good reason to warn people.<\/p><p>\u201cA number of years ago \u2014 even some wastewater treatment plants \u2014 there was no disinfection and so bacteria just moved on through the plant and right into the river,\u201d Seaman says. \u201cCross connections were an issue as well. Years ago there were cross connections and the stormwater system was connected to the wastewater system. Raw, untreated wastewater could flow backwards out into the river.\u201d<\/p><p>Abandoned oil and gas well sites lined the river, as well as an old tank farm that used to leach oil right into the Arkansas. It all fed the public\u2019s perception of the river as polluted. Eventually, even the Great Raft Race stopped. Tulsa turned away from its most dominant physical feature.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25233\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25233\" alt=\"Tulsa resident Julianne Romanello with her children at the 41st Street Plaza, a popular city park along the Arkansas River. \" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver2-e1444678980877.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver2-e1444678980877.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver2-e1444678980877-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver2-e1444678980877-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-12-ArkRiver2-e1444678980877-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tulsa resident Julianne Romanello with her children at the 41st Street Plaza, a popular city park along the Arkansas River.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Race for re-designation<\/h3><p>Now, INCOG and Vernon Seaman are pushing the Arkansas River as a recreation destination again. He says water treatment is far better than it used to be, the cross-connections have been broken, and the well sites and tank farm have been cleaned up.<\/p><p>\u201cWe just don\u2019t feel it\u2019s any more hazardous than many other waters across the state of Oklahoma,\u201d Seaman says. \u201cIt\u2019s actually real typical of a lot of the waters across Oklahoma.\u201d<\/p><p>It still isn\u2019t perfect. Some places near Tulsa have too much of a certain element or bacteria, but that\u2019s the case for lots of other Oklahoma rivers that <i>are<\/i> used for water recreation<\/p><p>\u201cThat\u2019s not to say it\u2019s all clean and pristine, but it\u2019s certainly a whole lot better than it used to be,\u201d Seaman says. \u201cI like to canoe and kayak, and they say, \u2018Well, do you go in the river?\u2019 And I go in the river frequently.\u201d<\/p><p>Trying to re-designate the river for recreation is just the latest sign that Tulsans are turning back toward the Arkansas. There\u2019s an effort to increase the depth of the river and add entertainment venues.<\/p><p>Construction is underway on a massive park called The Gathering Place, with a land bridge, lodge, wetlands, and a great lawn. It would help if people felt comfortable touching the water. The easy part will be getting the EPA to allow the change. Tulsans will be a tougher sell, but back at the 41st\u00a0Street Plaza, plenty of people want to see a revitalized river.<\/p><p>\u201cWe should do something with the river. We need to do something. It\u2019s vital to Tulsa. It really is,\u201d Sam Nielsen says as he heads for his car.<\/p><p>One major sign the river is coming back: This year, for the first time in two decades, the Great Raft Race was held again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arkansas River is an iconic feature of Tulsa, cutting across downtown and winding through the west side of the city. But it has a bad reputation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":25232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[174,368,427,600],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25195"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25195"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25237,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25195\/revisions\/25237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}