Navigating the waters of much-needed flood control, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday celebrated a $50 million state appropriation for repairs to the Tulsa/West Tulsa Levee System.

Surrounding Stitt for a symbolic signing of the bill in the Tulsa County Commission office were more than two dozen legislators, regional partners and community leaders.

“That’s kind of what this project is,” Stitt said. “It’s the state coming together. It’s our federal partners. It’s our local counties, our county commissioners, everybody coming together to fix this.”

Stitt recalled May and June of 2019, when record flooding along the Arkansas River killed five people and left an estimated $3 billion worth of damage in Tulsa and the surrounding area. 

“I remember walking around with (then) Vice President (Mike) Pence touring all of those damaged areas,” Stitt said. “So, it’s just amazing. I’m just glad to get this across the finish line. I can’t think my colleagues in the House and Senate enough for appropriating this money.”

Levees along the river in Tulsa County are among the top 5% of those most at risk for failure across the country, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“This legislation earmarking $50 million of repairs to the Tulsa/WestTulsa Levee System is a monumental victory for this region and for the residents and businesses that inhabit it,” Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, said in a statement. “These improvements will work to prevent catastrophic damage to personal and commercial property, major industries and terminal facilities important to our entire state.

“Since the inception of our OneVoice Regional Legislative Agenda in 2007, we have been working through the OneVoice coalition to press for critical improvements to the Tulsa Levees. But projects such as this don’t happen in a vacuum. They take the collaboration of countless partners. So, on behalf of the business community, I want to thank our many partners, as well as our elected officials for acting swiftly and providing the necessary funding to complete this important project, including Governor Kevin Stitt; Tulsa County Commissioners, especially Karen Keith; our federal delegation, especially U.S. Senator James Lankford and former U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe; city of Tulsa officials; regional partners INCOG, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the OneVoice coalition; and state House and Senate leadership, especially Representative Kyle Hilbert; Senator Roger Thompson; Senator Chuck Hall and Representative Kevin Wallace, as well as the bill authors and those who voted for this important measure.”

Constructed in the mid-1940s, the flood control system includes more than 20 miles of levees, 1,800 relief wells and seven pump stations. All told, the levees in the county protect the lives and livelihoods of more than 10,000 people who live and work across more than 6,500 acres.

“This is such a huge win, not only for Tulsa, but for the state of Oklahoma,” said state Rep. Kyle Hilbert, who is set to become the next speaker of the House. “What an incredible day.

“We have 4.8 billion in reserves now after this budget. What that allows us to do is strategically invest in projects just like this.”

Stitt said a federal commitment of $137 million has been secured for the project, which is scheduled to cost around $190 million.

“We don’t know when the levee is going to get tested again like it did in the governor’s first year of office,” Hilbert said. “But it’s going to happen. Look at today. The reason that we’re having this here and not on the levee is because it was raining today. That is really appropriate.

“Whether it’s five years or 25 years, that levee is going to be tested. But lives are going to be saved, property is going to be saved because of the action that was just taken when the governor’s signature hit that paper.”