While dams create water impoundments that can be used for recreation, flood control, drinking water and hydroelectric power generation, there is a movement to remove dams that no longer serve their purpose. The Beaver Watershed Alliance (BWA) is sponsoring a program designed to “support the connection between dam removal and restoring stream banks to reduce sediment loads in waterways, recreation improvements and clean drinking water. The goal of removal can be multi-faceted, including restoring flows for fish and wildlife, reinstating the natural sediment and nutrient flow, eliminating safety risks and restoring opportunities for recreation.”
Melissa Welch, program coordinator with the BWA, said the dam removal workshop is in conjunction with the Arkansas Stream Heritage Partnership that proposes removing low-water crossings and dams no longer performing their original function. She said when water is impeded by dams or low water crossings, water quality can suffer.
“Instead of spending a lot of money to rehabilitate the dam, multiple agencies are working to return streams to their natural function because it provides a variety of ecological benefits,” Welch said. “One of the things dams do is impede fish passage. Most dams were built for flood control back in mid-1900s, or for hydroelectric power. Now they are not really being used for that, so we don’t really need them. We are losing a lot of healthy aquatic habitat for riverine species because of all those dams.”
An important issue with dams is sediment buildup that can lead to filling in the lake or making it so shallow that it doesn’t support a good aquatic habitat. Upstream erosion can be the source of lakes filling in.
“The main water quality problems in Beaver Lake are sediment and phosphorus,” Welch said. “A lot of the sediment depositing in Lake Leatherwood and Beaver Lake is stream bank erosion. When you have healthy riparian (streamside) plant buffers, it cuts down on erosion and sedimentation because it stabilizes stream banks. But, in too many cases, there is only a riparian buffer of ten feet instead of the 100 feet or more that would be preferable.”
Clell Ford, executive director of BWA, said the Beaver Lake Watershed Symposium is a program designed for anyone with an interest in learning more about the water quality of the Beaver Lake watershed, outreach programs, best management practices, and how to help make a difference in the protection of NWA’s drinking water source.
“Clean water is fueling the tremendous growth of Northwest Arkansas, and protecting Beaver Lake and its watershed is fundamental to a continued healthy economy and environment,” Ford said. “Removing low water structures such as dams to protect Beaver Lake may seem counter-intuitive, but that is a key to successful stream restoration.”
The program, “Dam Removal – National, State and Local Perspectives,” is scheduled 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Greenland Community Center located at 170 N. Letitia Ave, Fayetteville. It’s free and includes lunch, but an RSVP is required and can be made by calling (479) 750-8007 or emailing info@beaverwatershedalliance.org.