The royal flush

Today city crews will begin draining the Bricktown Canal and the Eastern Basin of the North Canadian Oklahoma River, a time chosen for minimum tourist impact. (If you're a minimum tourist, be happy that they're thinking of you.)

The bottom of the Canal will be cleaned of whatever debris and sludge has accumulated since the last scouring in 2004; it will take approximately two weeks. (Last time, says The Oklahoman, the stuff was six to twelve inches deep.)

The Basin work will take about a month and a half: a wall near Regatta Park will be rebuilt, and the Eastern Avenue Dam will get new debris traps.