Elkins, other NW communities working with alliance on water
ELKINS — Beaver Watershed Alliance is working with multiple communities in Northwest Arkansas to protect water quality and encourage outdoor recreation.
Becky Roark, the alliance’s executive director, said money will be used for low-impact development projects in West Fork, Fayetteville and Elkins.
Elkins received $95,000 for improvements to Bunch Park, which backs up to the east fork of the White River. The Smart Growth for Source Water Protection grant paying for the project is provided through the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The project includes installing a “micro-prairie” and encouraging passive recreation such as walking and bird watching. Roark said the project is in its early stages but will tentatively open in spring 2025.
The alliance is working with Joe Woolbright, founder, director and chief executive officer of Ozark Ecological Restoration Inc., to revitalize the lot next to the Elkins Community Center.
Over the next year, Woolbright will be conducting prescribed burns, applying herbicide and planting native seeds to turn the 3-acre lot into the prairie it used to be.
Woolbright said his organization works to restore environments to their presettlement conditions.
The space will have native grasses and other plants, which Roark said help prevent erosion and sediment flowing into the White River.
“When you get dirt in the water, it decreases the oxygen levels, which is really bad for aquatic species,” Roark said. “It can choke them out and cause fish kills.”
Roark said sediment is not the only threat to water quality and aquatic wildlife.
When chemicals wash into bodies of water, phosphorus and nitrogen levels
increase, causing harmful algae blooms.
Many people associate algae with the stringy, green scum seen on ponds, but harmful algae blooms are toxic to aquatic wildlife, pets and people, Roark said.
Lake Fayetteville had a harmful algae bloom in June 2020, but Roark said Beaver Lake has never experienced one.
A July 2023 report showed rising levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the White River, which flows northward into Beaver Lake — a worrying trend for those concerned with drinking water quality.
Beaver Water District provides water to 20 towns and cities in the region. It is one of four water service providers that draws from Beaver Lake.
“There is not another drinking water source for this region,” said James McCarty, Beaver Water District environmental quality manager. “We would have to go all the way into Missouri or potentially east towards Bull Shoals.”
Trish Ouei, Beaver Water District director of public affairs, said the company provides water to around 370,000 people, but Beaver Lake provides water to around 500,000 Arkansans.
That number continues to grow as more people move to the state.
According to the Northwest Arkansas Council website, around 36 people a day move to Northwest Arkansas. Around 600,000 people will live in the area by January 2025 if this growth rate continues consistently.
Roark said Northwest Arkansas’ population growth adds an urgency to protecting Beaver Lake’s water quality. Roark said she works closely with the Beaver Water District to educate communities about the importance of protecting watersheds.
Roark said the project in Elkins allows the city to expand the local park and create an educational hub for those wanting to learn more about water protections and their local environment.
“It means the world to us,” Elkins Mayor Troy Reed said about the White River. “It’s great for swimming and fishing, and the scenery around the White River is absolutely beautiful and educational too.”
He said the development’s proximity to the elementary school and community center is exciting, as Reed was inspired by the outdoor classroom in Mansfield.
Reed said he has already talked with the Elkins School District’s curriculum coordinator about having field trips and outdoor classroom days once the project is completed.
“It would be awesome if this could inspire just one local kid,” he said.
Roark agreed and said she’d love to see students throughout the region visit and learn about watershed conservation.
“You know what county you live in; you know your ZIP code,” she said. “You should know your watershed.”