Lost, and found, in the Bricktown Canal
OKC crews find fish, scooters, wallets and phones
Electric scooters were the theme of this year's cleaning of the Bricktown Canal.
After draining 3 million gallons of water from the mile-long canal, Parks and Recreation crews found 28 of the rentable scooters from Lime-S, which brought a fleet of them to Oklahoma City two years ago.
The city aims to clean the canal every three years. In addition to the scooters, crews found four skateboards, a bicycle and a wheelchair. Several wallets and phones were discovered, as well as dozens of orange safety cones and a camera tripod.
“It is quite the haul,” said Scott Copelin, natural resources manager for Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation.
Crews also found dozens of fish in the canal, including about 50 catfish, 30 goldfish and koi. The municipal H.B. Parsons Fish Hatchery relocated the catfish to the Oklahoma River.
After learning goldfish and koi were discovered in the canal, Garden Ponds Unlimited in Moore offered to help. The fish were placed in a display koi pond where they will be monitored for a few months, said Lauri Lucas, co-owner of Garden Ponds Unlimited.
“We are so grateful that we were able to save these fish and provide them with a new koi pond home with good water quality where they can be cared for until they are rehomed,” Lucas said.
Lucas encouraged the public to bring unwanted koi and goldfish to a reputable pond store instead of releasing them into the wild where they might not survive.
Cope lin said re filling of the canal might start by the end of next week. The city expects the canal to be flowing again by Valentine's Day.