Beaver Watershed Alliance Receives $500,000 Grant for Green Infrastructure in the Beaver Lake Watershed
By Beaver Watershed Alliance
On October 1, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a grant totaling $499,783 to the Beaver Watershed Alliance (BWA) and Beaver Lake Watershed to build green infrastructure to improve water quality. The green infrastructure projects will advance components of the Beaver Lake Watershed Protection Strategy, and serve as educational demonstration sites for regional engineers and municipal staff, and will take place over the next three years.
“Green Infrastructure is needed now more than ever,” said John Pennington, Executive Director for the Alliance. “Incorporating trees, vegetation, permeable pavers, and natural ways to capture, filter and slow down rain water with new development greatly benefits our region’s drinking water source, Beaver Lake. We appreciate and thank the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and US EPA for this opportunity to implement best management practices to protect our water resources and support ecosystem services for the watershed.”
Green Infrastructure is a voluntary approach communities can take to treat and manage stormwater, according to the US EPA. “Sediment is the number one threat to Beaver Lake,” said Pennington. The goals for this grant are to reduce sediment and nutrient loads into the Beaver Lake watershed by establishing best management practices, work with municipal staff and regional engineers in building and management of green infrastructure features, and educate the public about the benefits. Three Rain Ready workshops will be held annually to assist homeowners, developers and designers in preparing for and managing wet weather through proactive property design. Beaver Watershed Alliance will also work with a local project steering committee on project goals.
Some stream reaches and an upper portion of Beaver Lake are listed as impaired on what is known as the 303(d) list of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Projects such as this are designed to slow “non-point source” urban and rural runoff and improve water quality in streams.
To find out more about green infrastructure and best management programs Beaver Watershed Alliance offers, contact info@beaverwatershedalliance.org or call 479-750-8007.
