Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

I just received an update from the Corp on the Pine Mountain Lake Project. The project is now called Pine Mountain Lake because it was originally authorized by congress to be a dam and lake. They will also be looking at other alternatives that may be more feasible.

They have signed the project management plan (PMP) for the Pine Mountain Lake project, which outlines the process for studying the water needs for the River Valley Regional Water District (RVRWD). The Project Review Plan (PRP) outlines the levels of review that will be completed before the project study process is completed. They will be posting both the PMP and the PRP to the district site.

They are in the process of contracting out the first part of the Environmental Impact Statement which will look at the existing conditions. That contract will include the first public meeting and the agency scoping meeting. When these meetings are scheduled, they will contact us so we can participate in the public meeting.

They will also be looking at the existing hydrologic conditions, which will start soon. A model will be created to show how the water flows through the watershed. They will be looking at how much sediment currently moves through the system and how a dam might affect the system.

Finally, the Corp will be contracting out the water needs analysis for the RVRWD. The water needs analysis will look at how much water the area currently needs and potentially will need to the year 2070.

That is about it for right now. When the PMP and PRP become available on the district Corp website, I will post links here. We are going to need a massive outpouring of letters from the boating community when the public meetings begin, so get ready.

DeBo wrote:The project is now called Pine Mountain Lake because it was originally authorized by congress to be a dam and lake.

Shouldn't it be called the Pine Mountain Dam Lake project then? Sounds like a more accurate description.

- Fish

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this and all issues affecting Arkansas environs. I'll compile a list for you, of all the people who made this their issue during Paddle for the Planet. I'll also include their voting district.

It is disturbing that they are assessing "needs" through 2070 when the original assessment was to be over a much shorter period of time. That date seems likely to have been selected for the greatest possibility of "need." I'm just thinking of the dates manipulation that took place to get the Cossatot dammed almost forty years ago.

KimL wrote:It is disturbing that they are assessing "needs" through 2070 when the original assessment was to be over a much shorter period of time. That date seems likely to have been selected for the greatest possibility of "need." I'm just thinking of the dates manipulation that took place to get the Cossatot dammed almost forty years ago.

Yep, I think you are right on the money and I also find it very disturbing!!

Debbie, does your info mention how the funding for these studies was/will be made available?

:shock: Wow. That's some kind of "Hope and Change"

Here is the link to the Corp site and the information I promissed.

http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/planning/ ... ntain.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Grant- having attended all of the RVRWD meetings, the funding is limited to annual appropriations from the US gov. No stimulus money will go into this as all those projects are to be shovel ready. Their 2070 timeline is quite a thrower as all the projections for the initial need were a "Drastic deficit in water by 2018" now they stated in the Press Argus that "We're looking for long term water that might take twenty years to get permission+-..." One thing I like about the preconditions of using an ERW is that none of the water can go out of state making a true regional water supply incongruent with the use of an ERW. Geo.

I have added the above updateto the ACC Conservation page. You can also find read a little more about the history of this issue and others there.

http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/index. ... &Itemid=64" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check out latest story in the City Wire:

http://www.thecitywire.com/index.php?q=node/4211" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice article. thanks

Great article and excellent discussion! Thanks

Never heard of City Wire - Thanks and nice to see some honest reporting! Geo.