Project OK’d for Illinois River water park

SILOAM SPRINGS — A planned whitewater park near the Arkansas-Oklahoma border has received U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval, officials said.

Justin Alberty with the Grand River Dam Authority said in an email Thursday the authority was excited to get approval. The authority will own and operate the park, he previously said.

“This is another step forward in a joint effort to complete this project and make it a reality for the region,” Alberty said.

The Walton Family Foundation is involved with the project on the Illinois River near Watts, Okla., about 6 miles from Siloam Springs.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is directed by Congress through Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to regulate the discharges of dredged and fill material into all waters of the United States, according to Corps documents.

Brannen Parrish, a Corps public affairs specialist, said a permit under the law was issued March 18.

Plans call for about 2 acres of temporary fill and 1 acre of permanent fill to be placed in the Illinois River and about 1½ acres of permanent fill to be put in adjacent areas.

The initial cost was estimated at $15.6 million, according to an August 2017 Siloam Springs Board of Directors’ agenda. The Walton Family Foundation agreed to pay the dam authority through a grant for planning, engineering and construction of the park near what was once Lake Frances.

“This new whitewater park will complement the current outdoor recreational activities available to our residents and will be a draw for tourists from around the county,” Siloam Springs City Administrator Phillip Patterson said in an email Wednesday.

Clearing and grubbing of the site have started, Patterson said. Grubbing involves the removal of roots and stumps. Officials are hopeful to see the project open in summer 2022, Patterson said. Activities would be focused on kayaking, surfing, stand-up paddleboarding and rafting, according to documents from the Corps’ Tulsa District Office.

The whitewater course would create a navigable bypass around the dam, according to Corps documents. Proposed amenities include parking, a bathhouse and takeout points adjacent to the river.

An agreement between the authority, Siloam Springs, Patton Ltd., and the Siloam Springs Resources Corp., which is owned by Siloam Springs, was signed in 2017, Alberty has said.

The authority was created by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1935 to build dams along Grand River for the purposes of hydroelectric generation and flood control.

Lake Frances was essentially depleted in 1990 when its dam was severely damaged, according to a 2017 report in the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader. The 150-foot-wide dam and spillway were built in 1931, Don Clark, Siloam Springs community development director, has said.