What is Source Water Protection?
Source water refers to bodies of water like rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs, which provide water for public drinking-water use and private wells. Protecting sources of water and watersheds from contamination reduces the risk of unsafe levels of germs or pollutants in your water and can reduce the cost of the drinking water treatment process.
How does the district protect our source water Beaver Lake?
Since 2006, Beaver Water District’s source water protection has been conducted under the guidance of our Board approved “Philosophy of Source Water Protection” and “Position Paper on Source Water Protection.” These documents were developed at the direction of our late Board President, Mr. John Lewis. Lewis saw protecting Beaver Lake as integral to providing safe water for Northwest Arkansas.
In 2012, Beaver Water District completed a year-long review of its Source Water Protection program and received approval for a 5-year program to improve the protection of Beaver Lake, our source of water. On April 21, 2016, Beaver Water District’s Board of Directors approved a motion to dedicate $0.04 cents per 1000 gallons sold to the Source Water Protection Fund. These funds have been used by the District and other partners in the watershed to maintain and improve the quality of water throughout the watershed.
“We need to preserve this great resource for future generations.”
John M. Lewis
Accomplishments
With the collaborative efforts of our partners over the last 25 years, restoration projects were conducted to reduce sediment in the West Fork White River.
