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Council hears lengthy briefing on Zinc Lake and Arkansas River safety, testing limits and oil-well concerns
Summary
City staff, River Parks and environmental experts told the committee the dashboard and USGS flow data will guide users but that bacterial testing is not real time; councilors raised allegations of unplugged oil wells in the river and asked agencies to investigate and provide evidence.
Committee members used nearly the remainder of the meeting to press city, River Parks, INCOG and stormwater staff on water quality and public‑safety preparations for Zinc Lake and the Arkansas River ahead of a planned opening.
River Parks’ director of outdoor experience, Joe Mudlin, said signs will be posted at all entry points directing users to the dashboard and summarizing permitted activities and hazards. He added the USGS flow gauge provides live flow data. Vernon Seaman (INCOG) and Scott Van Lim (city stormwater) told councilors the city is testing for E. coli and petroleum hydrocarbons but emphasized limits in testing methods: "There is no real world, EPA approved method for testing bacteria right now," Seaman said, explaining that bacterial lab tests take roughly 24 hours and samples then undergo quality control before posting. Seaman said the state uses a geometric mean (minimum five samples over 30 days) for regulatory determinations, so the dashboard is necessarily a lagging indicator.
Councilors pressed staff about safety measures, why boating and supervised flume activity are allowed while lap swimming is discouraged, and what triggers closures. Staff recommended helmets and personal flotation devices, explained the flume is a controlled environment while the lake is not, and said they will deploy large triangular signs to close areas when hazards or dam releases occur. Several councilors cited recent local news footage and field observations alleging many unplugged or uncapped oil wells in the river channel — estimates mentioned ranged from about 50 to 150–200 — and asked the city to submit locations and footage to the Corporation Commission and Oklahoma DEQ for investigation. City testing officials said routine tests have not found reportable petroleum hydrocarbons and urged that any footage or site coordinates be turned over to state regulators for follow‑up.
City staff said they are also piloting turbidity and other rapid measurements as potential surrogates for bacteria, acknowledging it is too early to know whether turbidity will reliably predict bacterial spikes. Staff reiterated dashboard disclaimers, which require users to acknowledge that the data are provided as a public service and that the city disclaims warranties and liability for reliance on site content. The committee did not take any formal action but asked staff to coordinate with state agencies if specific unplugged well sites or footage are provided.
