Conservation Commission pleased with announcement
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission is pleased with U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's April 16 announcement that two new small
watershed upstream flood control dams will be built in Oklahoma under
the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. That will raise the
number of such dams in the state to 2,107--more than any other state.
This project includes Dam No. 3 and Dam No. 8 in the Turkey Creek
Watershed that will, in combination, directly protect from flooding
eight bridges and eight county roads downstream.
These will be the
second and third of 11 dams planned for the watershed that, when the
entire project is completed, will protect 13,722 acres, 18 homes, and
businesses from flooding. These two dams were selected from a backlog
of over 300 more upstream flood control dams planned for Oklahoma. The
current infrastructure of dams provides $75 million in annual estimated
benefits from reduced flood damages and other benefits.
"We are pleased that the USDA and the Natural Resources Conservation
Service are investing in new flood control dams in Oklahoma," said Mike
Thralls, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
"Oklahomans know the value of our network of 2,105 flood control dams.
We are hopeful that Congress will continue to appropriate funds for new
dams beyond this stimulus program," Thralls said.
The Turkey Creek Watershed Project extends into four counties in
north-central Oklahoma. Those counties are Alfalfa, Major, Garfield and
Kingfisher. Turkey Creek Dam No. 3 lies in Garfield County and Dam No.
8 lies in Alfalfa County. The local sponsors for the dams, who will
take responsibility for operation and maintenance after construction,
will be the Garfield County and Alfalfa County Conservation Districts,
respectively. Federal funds in Secretary Vilsack's announcement for the
construction of the two dams total $1,670,000.
Vilsack's announcement also included $100,000 of American Recovery
& Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for tree plantings to restore
wildlife habitat at two existing flood control dams. At Upper Red Rock
Creek Dam No. 52 in Noble County, completed in August 2006, $60,000 has
been designated for 19 acres to be planted with native tree species to
compensate for habitat lost due to construction of the dam. At
Stillwater Creek Dam No. 33C in Payne County, completed in April 2006,
$40,000 has been designated for 12 acres to be planted with native
trees to compensate for loss of habitat due to the construction of that
dam.
More information on the announcement by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack can be found at www.usda.gov/newsroom--Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announces $84.8 million for vital watershed projects.
Posted on
Mon, May 18, 2009
by Crystal Drwenski