WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) – A local creek has Wichita Falls torn between locals who want to keep it and the city who say they must go to prevent damaging possibilities of flooding.
This project has been on the city’s mind for a while and is now putting its plans into action, but some locals are still hoping they will reconsider how to implement it. This is the opinion that local residents and businesses are used to seeing every day.
“We’d like to see the city, go back and do what’s right, which is work with the community and find a way to solve the flooding problem, that we haven’t had any flooding here, and we’ve been here for 19 years, so it’s not a problem,” said 3-T Technologies president Ty Thacker.
In a statement, Chris Horgen of the City of Wichita Falls said removing the dam and completing improvements to the canal between the Midwestern Parkway will reduce the risk of flooding the roadway and flooding adjacent properties. water towards Maplewood and Kemp.
“Make an up-to-date calculation of stormwater runoff, propose an environmental impact study, bring the top Army engineers here when they do their Sikes Lake study, and include which creek and see if we can come up with an answer that protects the aesthetic value with this area, as long as you answer the questions with water outflows,” said Thacker.
In the statement he continued, he went on to say that the Quail Creek drainage area was fully investigated and presented to City Council in April of 2019. The study looked at several possible improvements across the drainage area and 13 improvements were selected and priorities for implementation.
Thacker says he’s not against drainage at all, but by taking the creek away, he’ll dispose of more trash in Sikes Lake just across the street.
“Ask the city what they will do about the debris they are sending to Sike’s Lake, Gray Creek, Holliday Creek, Wichita River and finally Red River,” Thacker said.
Along the creek, plastic plates, cups and water bottles can be found debris that Thacker says the creek prevents from dumping into Sikes Lake.
“We get trash, debris, feelings, I suspect we pollute too. This impacts many bodies of water. It needs to be looked at as a whole, not just a little piece of one,” Thacker said.
For the City of Wichita Falls, this is just the beginning phase of a very large drainage project… and one that is expected to last several years.
The portion of the dam that has already been removed is part of the dewatering process to aid water transfer and reduce recolonization prior to the construction of this section of the canal. The project is expected to include improvements from Midwestern Pkwy Valley to Maplewood Ave. and more.
