Chouteau Lock & Dam

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Chouteau Lock & Dam
Chouteau Lock and Dam - Wagoner County, Oklahoma.jpg
Official nameChouteau Lock & Dam #17
CountryUnited States
LocationOklahoma
Coordinates 35°51′30″N95°22′19″W / 35.85833°N 95.37194°W / 35.85833; -95.37194 Coordinates: 35°51′30″N95°22′19″W / 35.85833°N 95.37194°W / 35.85833; -95.37194
PurposeNavigation
StatusOperational
Construction began1967
Opening date1971
Construction cost$ 31.8 million
Operator(s)U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsVerdigris River
Length53 feet
Reservoir
CreatesChouteau Reservoir
Total capacity23,340 acre feet (28,790,000 m3)
Catchment area 240 square miles (620 km2)
Surface area2,270 acres (9.2 km2)
Maximum length18.7 miles (30.1 km)

Chouteau Lock & Dam, also identified as Chouteau Lock & Dam 17, is 17th lock and dam of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) from the Mississippi River to its terminus at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, and is the first lock and dam on the Verdigris River in Oklahoma, just above the Three Forks junction with the Arkansas River. The lock is about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Okay in Wagoner County, Oklahoma. Construction of this facility started in 1966 and was completed in 1970. [1] The estimated cost of Chouteau Lock & Dam was $ 31.8 million. [2]

Verdigris River Tributary of the Arkansas River in Kansas and Oklahoma, USA

The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about 310 miles (500 km) long. Via the Arkansas, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.

Oklahoma State of the United States of America

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. It is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the fifty United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which dramatically increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Okay, Oklahoma Town in Oklahoma, United States

Okay is a town along the east bank of the Verdigris River in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 620 at the 2010 census, a 3.9 percent increase from 597 at the 2000 census.

Contents

The lock and dam was named for the family of Auguste Pierre Chouteau (1786-1838), who was a pioneer European that settled in this area during the late 18th and early 19th Century. [3] [lower-alpha 1]

Auguste Pierre Chouteau was a member of the Chouteau fur-trading family who established trading posts in what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Reservoir description

Chouteau Reservoir extends for 18.7 miles (30.1 km) to the next system on the Verdigris River, Newt Graham Lock & Dam. Its surface covers 2,270 acres (9.2 km2). Normal capacity of the reservoir is 23,340 acre feet (28,790,000 m3). Its drainage area is 240 square miles (620 km2) [5] The lock chamber, like all chambers on the MKARNS, is 110 feet (34 m) wide by 600 feet (180 m) long. [4] The lift is 21 feet (6.4 m) [6]

Newt Graham Lock & Dam

Newt Graham Lock & Dam is the final lock and dam of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) before reaching the western terminus, Tulsa Port of Catoosa on the Verdigris River. The lock and dam is 24.8 miles (39.9 km) downstream of the port.

Dam description

The Chouteau Dam is gravity type, of earthen construction. Built on a rock foundation, its height is 53 feet (16 m), and length is 11,690 feet (3,560 m). The maximum discharge rate is 155,000 cubic feet per second (4,400 m3/s). [5]

Recreation

Fishing and hunting

The MKARNS is often referred to as "the Ditch" by fishermen, who find the waterway an excellent source of fish, especially largemouth and white bass. Other species normally present are: crappie, channel catfish, flatheads and sunfish. Persons fishing from boats are cautioned to watch for submerged tree stumps and logs. [7]

Hunting is allowed in the Wildlife Management Area. Principal game species include: white tailed deer, dove, quail squirrel, rabbit, turkey and several species of migratory water fowl.. [4]

Camping and picnicking

The Corps manages three areas that abut the Chouteau pool: Afton Landing, Tullahassee Loop and Coal Creek. Camping is allowed in Afton and Tullahassee. Camping in undesignated areas is prohibited. Camping and day use fees are collected by self deposit at Afton Landing. Tullahassee and Coal Creek facilities are free. Coal Creek is limited to boat launching and day use. [7] Afton Landing also has a group picnic shelter.. [4]

Trails

The Jean Pierre Chouteau Trail is no longer maintained. [7]

Major repair of Lock 17

The "pintle ball", a vital piece of equipment for the Chouteau Lock, was found to be damaged and in need of total replacement during a routine dewatering of the lock in 2009. This required obtaining an identical replacement, dewatering the lock again, lifting the gate, removing the old ball and installing its replacement, then refilling the lock Such an operation had never been attempted by the Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). Complicating the operation was the fact that there were no plans or drawings to show how the work should be done, and there were no spare pintal ball parts available. The replacement would have to be designed and constructed anew. Since installing the device would require closing the lock to traffic for a minimum of three weeks, scheduling was critical to minimize costs. The ACE planned to close the lock and start the dewatering on August 27, 2012. Reopening the lock to normal traffic was scheduled for September 6, 2012. [8]


Notes

  1. ↑ Auguste built his home near the location of present-day Salina, Oklahoma in 1796 and established a trading house at Three Forks in 1823. He had at least four wives and fathered at least seven children. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to Chouteau Lock and Dam." U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Accessed August 9, 2017.
  2. ↑ Townsend, Jay. "5 Oklahoma Locks and Dams on the Ark. River Navigation System." Pacesetter Live. November 10, 2016. Accessed August 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Public Law 91-573" Approved by the 91st Congress of the United States December 24, 1970. Accessed August 9, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Chouteau Lock And Dam 17." OhRanger.com. Accessed August 10, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Chouteau Lock And Dam, northeast Oklahoma." Accessed August 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Arkansas & Verdigris River Locks: McClellan - Kerr Navigation. December 31, 2005. Accessed August 11, 2017
  7. 1 2 3 "Chouteau Lock & Dam Recreation." Accessed August 10, 2017
  8. ↑ Goodeyon, Sara. "First-ever lock repair successfully completed by Tulsa District at Chouteau Lock 17." U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. September 12, 2012. Accessed September 22, 2017.
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