January 06, 2023
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The January 2023 edition of Irrigation Leader magazine ran articles addressing two major Arkansas water supply projects:
- How the Bayou Meto Water Management District Will Move Water from the River to Rice Fields (“Bayou Meto”)
- Arkansas’s Grand Prairie Irrigation Project (“Grand Prairie”)
See Volume 14, Issue 1.
Irrigation Leader describes itself as dedicated to irrigators in the 17 western states and beyond and includes interviews with:
- Irrigation District Managers and personnel
- Supply representatives
- Local, state, and federal government officials
The Bayou Meto article interviewed Edward Swaim, who is the Executive Director of the Bayou Meto Water Management District. This project is projected to distribute water from the Arkansas River to about 268,000 acres of farmland. Further, the article notes that the District and its federal partners will build 105 miles of canal and improve flow in 116 miles of existing bayous and ditches to convey the water.
Mr. Swaim indicates that the project is slated to begin delivering water within the next three to five years.
The Grand Prairie article included an interview with the White River Irrigation District (“WRID”) Director and Chief Engineer Dennis Carman. He explained that the Grand Prairie irrigation project is designed to supply surface water from the White River to irrigated farmers southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. A stated goal is to eliminate their dependence on the Sparta aquifer. WRID is stated to be helping support this effect by building a pump station to lift water 100 feet from the river and a canal and pipeline system to distribute the water.
Mr. Carman addresses in the article both the importance of the project and the timeline for initiation of its operations and completion.
Both articles can be downloaded here.
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