River improvements can lift a city's reputation

Tulsa has a real river running through it. But sometimes it's hard to find the water. Tulsa leaders are pushing for low-water dams and Oklahoma City's river improvements, funded initially by MAPS, are viewed with longing.

“We need look no further than Oklahoma City to understand the importance of a river that holds water,” a Tulsa World editorial noted this week. “Oklahoma City leaders convinced voters to support the MAPS projects that have transformed that city. Dams were built on the normally all-but-dry North Canadian River (renamed the Oklahoma River) and it now has water. It also is a destination point for canoeists and kayakers. In the works is a future water park that could rival most any Olympic water feature.”

Some Tulsans may confuse the Oklahoma River with the Bricktown Canal, another MAPS project. The latter is man-made. It didn't exist before. The Oklahoma River isn't a canal but a series of dams, locks and lakes. The Arkansas River flowing through Tulsa is dammed upstream, which controls flooding but also keeps downstream water levels low.