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We the undersigned citizens of Tulsa County are hereby demanding cancelling the construction of the proposed South Tulsa Jenks low water dam and reallocation of money from Ordinance 23425 set aside to build said dam to projects and causes that would have true economic benefit to the region. Continuing the South Tulsa Jenks project, like the Zink Lake project, will further exacerbate the ecological damage to the river with little or no measurable benefits to anyone other than developers. The original budget for the City funding for the dam was over $64 million. Per the ordinance approximately $46 million could be reallocated for maintenance of the Zink Dam and other uses upon cancelling the dam construction.

We demand this action be taken based on the following facts:

• One year of bacterial data from 2024, and thus far in 2025, provides the same conclusions of studies since 1978, that all portions of the river impounded by the dams will not be safe for any bodily contact use other than occasional boating with possible safety hazards if boats overturn.
• Like the old Zink dam, the flume has proven to be a recreational liability rather than an asset. It is likely the same will be true for the South Tulsa Jenks Lake that will have even higher levels of bacteria present. Despite its intended use for only boating small boats, kayaks, canoes, etc. overturn and water ingestion is a given.
• No sound economic analysis has ever been produced supporting the justification for the South Tulsa Jenks dam.
• Management of the operation of the Zink dam has proven the City has little or no interest in placing fish migration as a matter of importance thus making the dam an ecological disaster. In operating the dam the City has bowed to unjustified “stakeholders” who have provided no monetary contribution to the Zink Lake dam construction or operational costs.
• The South Tulsa Jenks dam claim that it will not impede fish migration is faulty and, based on the Zink Dam operations, there is little reason to believe it will be properly managed for wildlife benefits. Without expensive additional modifications the Zink Dam does not allow meaningful fish passage.
• The Federal fish and wildlife statutes requiring that wildlife be give equal consideration in the construction and operation of any dam have been ignored to date. Wildlife agencies were never allowed a voting "seat at the table" or allowed to sign off on any of the new dam's operational plans. Complaints by those agencies have been ignored. The Corps of Engineers refuses to force the city to allow for meaningful dam operations that would minimize wildlife impacts.
• The ordinance originally set December 2016 as a cutoff for finding a funding partner for the South Tulsa Jenks dam. This has been pushed back time wise multiple times due to lack of interest by any such partner. The present partner, who had no past interest in the dam, only joined in the funding due to huge monetary incentives thus redirecting monies that could have gone to the City.
• The City never gave voters the opportunity to approve or disapprove the low water dams as separate measures. The City purposely mixed the low water dams, voted down many times in the past, in with other needed projects to get the dams approved.