Water quality report : 1985-1990

Mott, David

The concentrated, large, and expanding numbers of poultry, cattle, and swine produced in northwestern Arkansas have resulted in water quality degradation in this portion of the state. The Governor's Animal Waste Task Force has estimated that the poultry industry will double in the coming decade with similar increases in beef and swine production also occurring. Because the Buffalo River watershed is at the fringe of the saturated animal producing counties to the north and west, it is likely that poultry, beef, and swine production will become prominent growth industries in the Buffalo River watershed in the next ten years. The National Park Service has shown great foresight in instigating a Water Quality Monitoring Program at Buffalo National River. Through this program, valuable background data are being collected and used by managers to interpret the effects of changing land use patterns on the water quality of the Buffalo River. Other important contributions of the program include: 1.) development of cooperative assistance with the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology to conduct routine nutrient analyses and perform special investigations on impacted tributaries outside the boundaries of BUFF; 2 . ) instigation of macroinvertebrate community structure studies in cooperation with the University of Arkansas focusing on river reaches and tributaries experiencing water quality degradation; 3.) development of cooperative networking with the U. S. Geological Survey and participation by the hydrologist as a liaison member of the National Water Quality Assessment Program which may include the Buffalo River watershed as part of this region-wide study; 4.) providing water quality data and hydrologic information to researchers involved with Global Change studies and Fish and Wildlife personnel conducting research on fish population dynamics in the river; 5.) providing water quality and land use information to the Soil Conservation Service to aid them in securing federal grant money to assist farmers in instigating nonpoint pollution control measures along impacted tributaries to the Buffalo River; 6.) providing technical assistance and research documentation, such as this report, to other government agencies and private interest groups attempting to understand the effects of agriculture and nonpoint pollution on Arkansas' streams.