Spring Creek

Spring Creek - Part 4

Upstream site (foreground) and

Downstream site (background) (May, 2003).

Phone: 405-620-2004

E-mail: russ@riverman-engineering.com

Address:

1504 Ann Arbor Drive

Norman, Oklahoma 73069-5363

Phone: 405-620-2004

E-mail: russ@riverman-engineering.com

“All things are connected, like the blood that runs in your family . . . The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.” Suquamish Chief Sealth - 1854

“Serious problems cannot be dealt with at the level of thinking that created them.” Albert Einstein

Upstream site (May, 2003).

Over all, I am once again very satisfied with this project. And, once again, there are things I would do differently if I had it to do over. At the upstream site, I would have put another sill tying the LTSP in to the bank in the middle of the bend somewhere. At the downstream site, I would have tied the first cross-vane into the old bank farther. I also should have made sure that the footers were deeper on the rock vane that collapsed. I’ve been in contact with OCCWQ and there is a possibility that they will fund some minor adjustments, which would take an excavator one day to accomplish.

The vegetation is doing fairly good. The sycamores are really starting to come in nicely. The swimming holes around the rock vanes are wonderful and the fish are plentiful. I really love this site and hope to visit it more often.

“The song of the river ends not at her banks but in the hearts of those who have loved her.”

Buffalo Joe

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On May 1, 2003, I again hired a pilot from the Tahlequah Airport to fly me over the site so that I could take pictures. Some of those pictures are shown below.

Upstream site (May, 2003).

Downstream site (May, 2003).

All in all, the site looks pretty good, but a few problems seem to have developed. At the upstream site the channel changed upstream and the thalweg is now approaching the LTSP at a slightly different angle. Time will tell what affect this will have.

At the upstream site, there are two problems that have arisen. First, a log jam that had developed at the first cross vane resulted in it being eaten around slightly on the left. Clearly I didn’t make a big enough sill to prevent this. The second problem is that the third rock vane on the right bank settled and lost it’s shape and therefore it’s function. (This may also be seen in the pictures from July 2001).

Two weeks before my last visit on July 14,2004, Spring Creek experienced a serious flood that left several people stranded and took trailers and cars in its current. Despite the flood, the site responded remarkably well, as can be seen in the pictures shown below.

Upstream site - looking downstream

(July, 2004)

Upstream site - upper end

(July, 2004)

Upstream site - looking upstream

(July, 2004)

Upstream site - lower end

(July, 2004)

Upstream site - looking upstream

(July, 2004)

Upstream site - stabilizing toe?

(July, 2004)

Downstream site - First cross-vane