News Releases from Region 06

EPA and Arkansas Restore Fayettevilles Streams

DALLAS (March 9, 2015) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $300,000 to the Arkansas Natural Resource Commission (ANRC) to reduce sediment and phosphorus-enhancing the ecology of the West Fork White River watershed.

EPA's grant will help the ANRC fund a nonpoint-source management project that will help restore an unstable tributary to Cato Springs, evaluate water intake dams, and increase education and outreach programs.

Nonpoint source pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over the ground. This runoff picks up natural and man-made pollutants as it flows, eventually depositing the material into lakes, rivers, and groundwater. This type of pollution can be difficult to manage since it cannot be traced to a specific source.

The nonpoint-source pollution control program supports the goals of the Clean Water Act to protect rivers, lakes, bays, wetlands and coastal waters. Streams and wetlands benefit communities by trapping floodwaters, recharging groundwater supplies, removing pollution and providing habitats for fish and wildlife. Families and farms located downstream understand the importance of healthy headwaters upstream. One in three Americans get their drinking water from public systems that rely on seasonal and rain-dependent streams.

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