Recovery Act 2009

Watershed Rehabilitation

Project Description - Poteau River Watershed Site 5

• Location: City of Waldron in Scott County, 4th Congressional District
• Federal Funding: $1,495,000
• Sponsor Funding: $420,000

The dam will be brought up to current safety standards. This project will raise the top of the dam and extend the dam’s service life by an additional 100 years. The principal and auxiliary spillways, which release water during small rainfall events, will be lengthened.

The Poteau River Multipurpose Dam No. 5 and reservoir provide flood prevention and water supply for Waldron, Ark. The city’s water supply serves approximately 4,000 people in a 17-square-mile area around the city. The dam, approximately 47-feet high, is located on the East Fork of the Poteau River about 3.5 miles northeast of Waldron.

Partners

• USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
• City of Waldron
• Poteau River Watershed Improvement District
• Poteau River Conservation District

Benefits

Rehabilitation of the dam will prevent flooding, protecting the lives and property of 80 residents. Twenty homes and commercial businesses, farms and poultry operations, and a highway will be protected. The dam also will provide 2,100 acre-feet of water supply storage.

Opportunities

The project will immediately contribute to the economic growth by creating or saving construction jobs. It will provide $101,900 of flood prevention benefits annually. For every dollar spent on the project, a benefit of $1.30 is expected. In addition to the jobs created, there will also be an increased demand in other industries’ goods and services that could put an estimated $3.1 million into economies of the Poteau River Watershed and surrounding counties.
 

Watershed Operations

Project Description - Upper Petit Jean Watershed Site 9

• Location: City of Booneville in Logan County, 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts
• Federal Funding: $134,000

The project uses a chemical grout to seal and bond stress cracks between the principal spillway inlet structure and outlet pipe. The cracks pose no immediate threats, but over time, they would allow corrosion of the steel in the reinforced concrete.

Partners

• USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Magazine Soil and Water Conservation District
• City of Booneville, Arkansas

Benefits

This project will protect a water supply for 4,500 people in the City of Booneville and surrounding area. The 310-acre reservoir also provides flood control for 19,872 acres.

Site 9 provides $540,000 of flood prevention benefits annually. For every dollar spent on the project, a benefit of $1.30 is expected. In addition to the jobs created, there will also be an increased demand in other industries goods and services that could generate an estimated $208,000 for economies of the Upper Petit Jean Watershed and surrounding counties.
 

Floodplain Easements

Officials with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) signed agreements with landowners to purchase easements on 1,462 acres for $1,462,000. The funding is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The six floodplain easements are in Arkansas, Clay, Phillips, Prairie, Pulaski and Yell counties.

"Floodplain easements restore, protect, maintain, and enhance the functions of the floodplain; conserve natural values including fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, flood water retention, groundwater recharge, and open space; reduce long-term federal disaster assistance; and safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion," said Kalven L. Trice, NRCS state conservationist.

"The six easements selected for funding in Arkansas will help restore the natural functions of the floodplain they are found in. This will be accomplished by converting cropland often damaged by flooding, to permanent native vegetation and restoring natural topography to the 1,462 acres included in these easements" Trice said. "Once restored, these projects will reduce flood damage to crops, filter runoff water, reduce soil erosion, and protect and preserve endangered species and migratory birds," he said.

Restoration work includes establishment of native bottomland hardwood trees and native grasses; and de-leveling precision-leveled fields.

Arkansas NRCS received 56 applications from 22 counties totaling over $17 million in requested funding on 15,350 acres.

Arkansas 2009 EWP Obligations by County

Last Modified: 02/24/2011

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