Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Whitewater park expected to have major impact
30-acre attraction being built on Oklahoma-Arkansas border
WATTS, Okla. — Larry Wood first heard about plans for a water park near this small town when he took office as Adair County commissioner in 2019.
“I was told about it, then nothing happened, nothing happened, and then it happened,” he said. Wood is the District 3 county commissioner.
Each Oklahoma county is divided into three districts with a commissioner elected from each district. Commissioners act like justices of the peace in Arkansas.
The 30-acre whitewater park being built on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border will host kayaking, surfing, standup paddle boarding, tubing and rafting, according to a news release. It will be in Wood’s district.
Officials with Siloam Springs and the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma announced the park in late October.
The unveiling of plans for the WOKA Whitewater Park coincided with the beginning of construction at the old spillway of Lake Frances on the Illinois River near Watts, according to a news release. WOKA is a combination of the words water, Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to the release.
Twin Falls Road is a winding dirt road that crosses a low water cement slab to the work site just off U.S. 59. Wood said Adair County will pave the road before the park opens.
The Walton Family Foundation will pay 95% of the $33 million construction cost for the park, according to a fact sheet, which accompanied the announcement. The foundation also provided funding for the park’s design.
Watts is a town of a little more than 300 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The county has a population of a little over 22,000, according to the census. The county is driven by agriculture business like beef and dairy cattle and the poultry industry, Wood said.
The park could perhaps attract other outdoor activities to the county, not just on the north side, Wood said.
The Illinois River park is expected to have 85,000 visitors annually, according to a news release.
Tyler Bean of Gentry works at a motocross track that sits on the banks on the river just west of the park. He is excited because the park might draw people to the motocross track.
“It’s big,” he said. “It will bring more people out this way. It’s an opportunity for people to try new things.”
The park’s main attraction will be an approximate 1,200-foot-long, 100-foot-wide side channel off the river with eight features to provide wave action for kayakers, surfers and tubers of all skill levels, according to the release.
Additional amenities will include waterfront, shaded spectator seating; rental services; parking; trails; public restrooms; and course put in and take outs. The dam authority will oversee and manage the park. Construction is expected to be completed in 2023.
Siloam Springs operates a waterpark 8 miles upstream, which served as the inspiration for WOKA. The city deeded 17.25 acres to the dam authority from the Siloam Springs Water Resource Co. and will partner to reinforce the existing dam, which supplies water to Siloam Springs from upstream, according to the release.
“Protecting the city’s water supply and enhancing conservation efforts makes this collaboration ideal for the city of Siloam Springs,” Mayor John Mark Turner said when the announcement was made. “We have experienced the success of drawing visitors to Siloam Springs with our kayak park. Locating a second whitewater park in the region will work in tandem and complement each other to leverage these attractions to the success of both.”
The dam authority has worked since March 2018 with the engineering firm McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group — A Division of Merrick & Co. to design the park.