Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Stream-flow are narrowed by construction of paved trail under Town Branch bridge

Trail only 18 inches higher than flow of Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River under S. School Avenue. Whose idea was this? Rain had slacked off but more could come. Video at 8:23 a.m. Tuesday, September 2, 2014. Ever drive South College when was was flowing over the bridge and bridge was temporarily closed? Now there is less room for water under the bridge.
http://youtu.be/I-8w_HpVdKU?list=UUwcZunxqSV3zcgvRJqBn-Qw

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Beaver Lake watershed-protection efforts to be discussed by Watershed Alliance at noon on August 14, 2014

Subject: Beaver Watershed Alliance West Fork Opportunity Meeting - August 14th, 12-1 pm
 Dear West Fork Watershed leader,
 The Beaver Watershed Alliance would like to invite you to a meeting for Washington County staff, elected officials, city staff, and other leaders in the West Fork Watershed community to show the initial results of our West Fork Opportunity Assessment as well as seek input and feedback for our program. The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 14th, from 12-1 pm at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce large conference room. The Chamber is located at 123 W. Mountain Street in Fayetteville.
 The ultimate goal of our program is to improve the water quality of the West Fork of the White River, which flows from Winslow to Fayetteville and empties into Beaver Lake, the drinking water source for over 420,000 people. Since last fall, we have been working on a variety of water quality issues in the West Fork Watershed, connecting with streamside landowners, implementing Best Management Practices, and creating an assessment of water quality improvement opportunities. The initial results of our landowner interaction and community feedback are conveyed in a series of maps, however we realize that there are still existing opportunities for water quality improvement that we have not yet accounted for and we are still seeking input regarding these opportunities. We would appreciate your attendance at this meeting and feedback on our program, since it has implications for our valuable water resource and is integral for a healthy Northwest Arkansas economy and community.
 Lunch will be provided for attendees, and an RSVP is requested. You may reserve your spot at the meeting by contacting Courtney Thomas at 479-750-8007 or courtney@beaverwatershedalliance.org
Thank you, 
Courtney Thomas
Outreach Coordinator of Beaver Watershed Alliance

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Beaver Lake history in song by Donna and Kelly Mulhollan series continues at Hobbs State Park

Download BEAVER LAKE PROJECT PRESS RELEASE.docx (32.3 KB)
BEAVER LAKE PROJECT PRESS RELEASE.docx
View online
View Still on the Hill.jpg in slide show
Download
Memo Header
From:  Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area
                                                                        Contact:  479-789-5000




Media Release
July   19, 2014
Musical Group - Still On the Hill - to Perform “Once A River” Songs at Hobbs State Park – Free to the Public
     An exciting project concerning Beaver Lake and its watershed is occurring in Northwest Arkansas.  The popular and award-winning folk duo, Still on the Hill, has written and recorded an entire CD of songs to create awareness of the lake’s history and collective stories.
     The project is being made possible through a collaborative grant from the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts, plus four northwest Arkansas groups – the Association for Beaver Lake Environment (A.B.L.E.), Ozarks Water Watch, Beaver Water District, and Beaver Watershed Alliance, with special additional sponsorship through the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. 
     Still on the Hill will perform 10 free concerts during 2014 in watershed communities, and will give away 100 CDs (one per family) at each performance on a first come, first served basis.  These concerts, in addition to being entertaining and educational, will instill a sense of ownership for the protection of this valuable resource which supplies drinking water and quality of life for one in seven Arkansans!  Mark your calendar.

Still On the Hill Plays “Once a River” songs at Hobbs State Park
Where: Hobbs State Park visitor center – located on Hwy 12 just east of the
              Hwy 12/War Eagle Road intersection.
When:  Saturday July 26   2:00 p.m.
Cost:   FREE – The public is invited
   For information on upcoming programs at Hobbs State Park, go to:  http://www.friendsofhobbs.com.

#####


Steve Chyrchel, Interpreter – CIG
Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area
20201 East Hwy 12
Rogers, Arkansas 72756
Phone:  479-789-5006
Fax:         479-789-2151

Description: final Hobbs logo_color_outlDescription: ASP Logo color-1inchHigh copy


Still on the Hill production at Hobbs State Park next weekend

Download BEAVER LAKE PROJECT PRESS RELEASE.docx (32.3 KB)
BEAVER LAKE PROJECT PRESS RELEASE.docx
View online
View Still on the Hill.jpg in slide show
Download
Memo Header
From:  Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area
                                                                        Contact:  479-789-5000




Media Release
July   19, 2014
Musical Group - Still On the Hill - to Perform “Once A River” Songs at Hobbs State Park – Free to the Public
     An exciting project concerning Beaver Lake and its watershed is occurring in Northwest Arkansas.  The popular and award-winning folk duo, Still on the Hill, has written and recorded an entire CD of songs to create awareness of the lake’s history and collective stories.
     The project is being made possible through a collaborative grant from the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts, plus four northwest Arkansas groups – the Association for Beaver Lake Environment (A.B.L.E.), Ozarks Water Watch, Beaver Water District, and Beaver Watershed Alliance, with special additional sponsorship through the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. 
     Still on the Hill will perform 10 free concerts during 2014 in watershed communities, and will give away 100 CDs (one per family) at each performance on a first come, first served basis.  These concerts, in addition to being entertaining and educational, will instill a sense of ownership for the protection of this valuable resource which supplies drinking water and quality of life for one in seven Arkansans!  Mark your calendar.

Still On the Hill Plays “Once a River” songs at Hobbs State Park
Where: Hobbs State Park visitor center – located on Hwy 12 just east of the
              Hwy 12/War Eagle Road intersection.
When:  Saturday July 26   2:00 p.m.
Cost:   FREE – The public is invited
   For information on upcoming programs at Hobbs State Park, go to:  http://www.friendsofhobbs.com.

#####


Steve Chyrchel, Interpreter – CIG
Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area
20201 East Hwy 12
Rogers, Arkansas 72756
Phone:  479-789-5006
Fax:         479-789-2151

Description: final Hobbs logo_color_outlDescription: ASP Logo color-1inchHigh copy


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Watershed Alliance meeting on You Tube from 30 June 2014

Beaver Watershed Alliance meeting on 30 June 2014 recorded in three video clips on You Tube by Aubrey James Shepherd.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Arkansas Democrat/Gazette report from Beaver Lake watershed-protection meeting in Huntsville

NWAonline

Tame runoff, say watershed experts

HUNTSVILLE - As the population within the Beaver Lake Watershed continues to grow, residents will need to take increasing measures to mitigate the side effects of paving and construction, experts said Friday.
The importance of controlling storm-water runoff - a term for rainwater that can’t be absorbed into the soil because the land is covered with impermeable surfaces such as asphalt - was emphasized throughout several presentations during the Beaver Lake Watershed Symposium Friday at theCarroll Electric Building in Huntsville.
More than a dozen experts in hydrology, aquaculture and other biological sciences spoke before a crowd of about 60. While the topics of individual presentations ranged from the development and implementation of the Beaver Lake Watershed protection strategy to methods of stream restoration and water-quality testing, many of the speakers reiterated that one of the best ways to protect the region’s drinking water is to find ways of redirecting storm water into absorbent soils, rather thanlet it flow freely into open surface waters.
Katie Teague, an agent with the Benton County Extension Office, touched on several factors addressing water-quality protection while asking the audience to participate in a trivia game focused on water-pollution issues.
According to data provided by Teague and others, about 20 percent of rainfall in rural areas remains on the surface of the land as runoff when construction has made at least10 percent of the area impermeable. Teague said that a 1,000-square-foot house will displace 623 gallons of water from 1 inch of rainfall.
“From the homeowner side, it’s just the sheer volume of storm water that’s generated ontheir property, and pollutants that they can introduce that can be carried off their site, into a storm drain, untreated, into the nearest creek or stream,” Teague said. “We encourage ways to break up that path and slow down that water so it cansoak in.”
When water is allowed to permeate vegetation and existing soil, a natural filtration process can remove or reduce excess nutrients and other pollutants from the water as it makes its way into aquifers, and eventually into an area’s drinking water.
John Pennington, executive director of the Beaver Lake Watershed Alliance, has said he hopes the symposium will become an annual event. The alliance, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, aims to promote awareness of factors that affect the quality of the drinking water in Beaver Lake,which is provided approximately to 420,000 people and sources its water from a watershed covering more than 1,200 square miles.
Brad Hufhines, an environmental technician with the Beaver Water District Treatment Plant, discussed how the use of “rain gardens” can help homes and businesses offset their impermeable footprint by creating areas of vegetation where storm-water runoff will pool and percolate into soil.
“We’re gaining 30 residents every day in Northwest Arkansas, so we’re becoming much more populated, much more built-out,” Hufhines said.“We’re covering up the natural land with impervious surfaces, and that’s causing a lot more water to flow into our streams rapidly. We’re getting more intense flooding and sediment from erosion that’s occurring at an increased level.”
Hufhines said the gardens, which are constructed in depressions to allow runoff to flow toward them, are effective and low-cost ways of trapping and filtering sediment and pollutants.
“I think that’s not the answer for everybody, but it’s one of several best management practices that can be used throughout the watershed.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 09/28/2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Association for Beaver Lake Environment spring town-hall meeting set for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, 2013


This is an e-mail from 'Able-Ark.org - Association for Beaver Lake Environment '

Message:
The ABLE Spring Town Hall Meeting will be held Tuesday, April 9th at the Rogers Public Library. It starts at 6:30pm and will feature Olympian kayaker Mike Herbert. He will talk about his sport and the role Beaver Lake played in his career. Hope to see you there!