Curve to be restored in Little Sugar Creek

BENTONVILLE — The city will partner with the Watershed Conservation Resource Center for a stream restoration project on Little Sugar Creek, which will protect the integrity of a public trail.

The project will be just south of Lake Bella Vista and just north of where Little Sugar Creek and McKissic Creek converge.

The City Council unanimously approved the partnership at its meeting Tuesday.

The Watershed Conservation Resource Center is a nonprofit organization in Fayetteville whose primary activity is “to provide technical and planning services for the protection, conservation, and restoration of watershed resources,” according to its website.

The agreement isn’t to exceed $372,150 and will include data collection, design services and project management, according to meeting documents.

Little Sugar Creek is a stream within the Elk River watershed.

“This restoration will result in a stable stream system and improved water quality, as well as enhanced aquatic habitat and aesthetic values,” Bryan Wick, city project manager, said in a memo to City Council.

Up to 1,500 feet of stream bank will be restored in the project, depending on how far the grant money will go, Ben Peters, city engineer, said after the meeting. Better cost estimates will be available after the project is designed, he added.

The project’s focus will be where the creek — heading north — takes a sharp turn to the right.

“Anytime you have a 90-degree turn in a creek, it’s prone to erosion,” Peters said.

The bank’s current condition is fine for everyday base flow but it can’t handle flooding events, he said. The bank has eroded to where it’s now close to the Bella Vista Lake Trail where it crosses the creek.

“If we don’t do anything, that walking trail is going to eventually fail,” Peters said.

The project also includes creating a wetland north of the stream restoration site. It will be in between the trail and U.S. 71.

The wetland will be an educational tool to show why wetland is important, Peters said.

The project will take about three years to complete. The first year will consist of data collecting. The stream restoration and wetland will be designed and constructed, then there will be another year of monitoring water quality and other factors.

Councilmen accepted $560,000 through two grants for the project at its Sept. 27 meeting. One was from the Environmental Protection Agency for $299,822 and the other was from the Walton Family Foundation for $260,178.

That money will also cover the construction cost.

The project wouldn’t be done as quickly if the grants weren’t awarded, Mayor Bob McCaslin said Tuesday afternoon.

This restoration project isn’t related to rebuilding the Lake Bella Vista dam project, Peters said.