Construction On Zink Dam Paused Due To Rising Water Levels

Construction on the Zink Dam in the Arkansas River is currently on hold because crews had to take equipment out of the water because of the rise in the water level. 

The city said construction crews are waiting on the release of water from the Keystone Dam to slow before they can continue work.

Brooke Caviness is Tulsa's Lead Engineer and said the construction crews created a mini dam in the work area to keep water out.

She said it is built to withstand the normal water flow of the Arkansas River, but recent flooding in Kansas and snow melting in Colorado is bringing in excess water to Lake Keystone. 

“It is that time of year that we get the spring rains so there is always potential for that, but I don’t think that we want to sit and wait to get through the spring rain and not work. So we’ll see what we can do to get back out there," said Caviness.

She said they are expecting this delay to push back the competition date by about a month.