Arkansas River

Starting Tuesday, Arkansas River levels and the Lincoln Street Dam will be lowered for riverbank improvements related to the Broadview Hotel renovation project. During the work, repairs to a hydraulic cylinder in the dam's control system will be performed.   The river level is expected to be down for approximately three to four weeks.

It's a tradition in the Riverside area; residents help Mother Nature do a bit of spring cleaning. Volunteers pitch in at the 11th annual river clean-up at the Arkansas River. They spruced the place up by collecting garbage from the river and its banks. It's a part of the city wide earth day effort and part of the Riverfest preparations and Wichita officials say it's a great way to keep festival goers safe. The cleanup is registered with “American Rivers” as part of the National River Cleanup Initiative.

Wichita police have identified the body found last week in the Arkansas River near Central and Seneca. Police say the man's name was Sean Regan. He was 51 years old and had been living in Wichita for at least three years. An official cause of death is still pending, as investigators wait for toxicology reports.

"The 10th Annual River Trash Round Up" is set for this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.  The city says volunteers can meet at the southeast corner of the Lawrence-Dumont Stadium parking lot to check in and get gloves and bags. The city asks volunteers to wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty...and you should wear pants instead of shorts.  Canoeists and kayakers are welcome to bring their boats. Volunteers will receive an event t-shirt and enjoy a post-cleanup cookout.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has rescinded the health advisory for the Arkansas River. Analytical results from sampling the river on June 7 indicate that E. coli bacteria concentrations have returned to acceptable levels. KDHE first issued the health advisory on May 25 after the agency recorded elevated levels of bacteria during routine stream sampling by the ambient water quality monitoring program. This health advisory was issued for the portion of the Arkansas River from the Lincoln Street Bridge in central Wichita to the Oklahoma state line.

The Arkansas River may seem a little lower next week...as crews lower it to perform bridge inspections. Crews need to inspect the bridges spanning the Arkansas at Central, Murdock, Bitting, 13th, 18th, 21st, 25th, 29th and 37th Streets. Lowering the river will take about a day, then inspections will take two to three days.  It will then take a day or two for the river to return to its previous level. The river is lowered using the dam at Central Avenue.  That's set to happen on Monday.

As the weather heats up, water starts to attract a lot of people--especially kids.  But the Arkansas River at the Lincoln Street dam is dangerous, and it's suddenly attracting more people because of something new. "There's nothing else like it, probably in the entire Midwest," Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist Jessica Mounts says.  "Being new and exciting and interesting, it is going to be a big draw for people....

by Kim Hynes (WICHITA, Kan.) While improving a deteriorating bridge, the City of Wichita will make the Arkansas River more accessible to boaters. During a workshop Tuesday, the Wichita City Council learned about the $12 million project. The city wants to replace the Lincoln Street bridge. The bridge was built in 1970 and started having issues in 1976. Right now city engineers say the bridge is structurally deficient and is having problems with corrosion. If the council approves the replacement, the city will move the dam under the bridge 150 feet downstream.

A public health advisory has been issued for parts of the Arkansas River.  The Kansas Department of Health and Enviorment put out the warning Friday due to elevated levels of bacteria. The bacteria was discovered during routine sampling of the water.  KDHE also says there's been a fishkill in areas where there is black and odor filled water.  The parts of the river under an advisory extend from the Lincoln Street Bridge in Wichita to the Oklahoma state line. KDHE advises individuals to have no contact with the Arkansas River between the locations identified above until further notice.  Residents are also advised to keep their pets and livestock from making contact with the water.

Update: Wichita police confirm the man whose body was found in the river over the weekend is the same man who ran from them and jumped into the river last week.  That man was pulled over and suspected of DUI when he ran. Police identifed the man as 38-year-old Kenneth Zabienski of Wichita. ------- Authorities find a body in the Little Arkansas River. Crews were in the area of the 500 hundred block of north Nims near the Villa Del Mar Apartments where a caller said they located a body floating in the river.

City of Wichita officials said high flows have left the Arkansas River unsafe for public use due to concerns about debris and high currents. During the annual Wichita River Festival, which starts today, the City of Wichita will display colored flags at the Douglas and Lewis Street bridges to inform festivalgoers about river-water quality and flow based on daily testing. The City has established three advisory levels based on river flows and testing results. A blue flag signifies the river is fine for recreational activities.

A man fears being arrested for driving drunk and makes what could turn out to be a deadly decision.  He jumped into the Little Arkansas River near Central and Waco, just after 10 p.m. Thursday.  He hasn't been seen since then. Police say they pulled the man over for not having his headlights on. They say the man ran from the officer just after failing a sobriety test. Once he was in the water, cops called for him to come back to shore. He refused, so they told him to grab onto a floating log. The recent rain caused the current of the river to flow faster than normal, which made it very difficult for the man to stay above water.

As the weather heats up, water starts to attract a lot of people--especially kids.  But the Arkansas River at the Lincoln Street dam is dangerous, and it's suddenly attracting more people because of something new. "There's nothing else like it, probably in the entire Midwest," Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist Jessica Mounts says.  "Being new and exciting and interesting, it is going to be a big draw for people....

Wichita city leaders are considering two different proposals develop an area of green space along the Arkansas River downtown. Developers are wanting to build on the land along the bank, across from the Broadview Hotel.  City officials are reviewing the proposals now and won't comment on the specifics.  But the downtown master plan for that area includes restaurants, shops and high-end residences. Andy Sleiman, Wichita resident, likes the idea. "We don't have enough entertainment here," he said.

Hundreds of fish died, now the City of Wichita has to pay up. At least 800 fish were killed in the Arkansas river when sewage got into the water last May. Now the city will pay more than $240,000 in fines to the state and that's not all. The dam along Lincoln street bridge is a popular place to fish. But last year about this time, people were told to stay away from the water and not eat the fish between the dam and the Oklahoma border due to a health risk. Today, the Arkansas River is okay.

Recent rains have helped fill up Kansas rivers and back yard ponds, but it's only making a dent in our ongoing drought. This week, much of the state is still experiencing extreme to exceptional drought conditions. Click here to see US Drought Monitor The Arkansas River is full again and flowing strong. A few people kayaking were on the water Sunday, something that hasn't been possible in months due to dry conditions. They can thank a wet spring for some of that extra water.

Park City police, Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputies and fire and rescue crews responded to a call of a submerged vehicle in the Arkansas River at 53rd and West street Thursday morning.  When they arrived they discovered an abandoned Jeep bogged down in the river.  Photos from the Scene Deputies say it looks like someone was driving around along the river bed, illegally, and tried to cross the river when he or she got...

"I see water as a gift," Rita Robl says.  "It's a gift that's been given to us by God. " To overuse, is to abuse that gift according Robl and Joann Stuever.  When they're not busy with their official duties as Catholic nuns, these women are running the Great Plains Earth Institute.  They say Kansas is drying up, and that means we all need to make some changes. "The midwestern part of the United States could be part of a new low rainfall or desert environment," Stuever says.

Bag it up Wichita. That's the message behind a catchy music video and PSA from city environmental officials. The play on the 1990s hip-hop hit "No Diggity" is designed to encourage dog owners to pick up their pet's waste to promote overall health in the community. Watch the "Dog Doogity" Video Officials say Wichita pets create 50,000 pounds of waste per day.  Much of the doody eventually finds its way to the Arkansas River, threatening the long term health of the river and its Eco-system.  It can also create a human health hazard by spreading bacteria and diseases.