Kings River Watershed
Protecting the Kings River Watershed
This project is a three-year initiative to reduce stormwater pollution, engage landowners, and monitor water quality in one of northwest Arkansas’s most treasured waterways.
Why the Kings River?
The Kings River is one of Arkansas’s most beloved and ecologically significant waterways. It’s designated as an Extraordinary Resource Water and, in Madison County, it’s a Natural and Scenic Waterway. However, portions of the watershed are listed as impaired for dissolved oxygen, pH, and total dissolved solids due to pressures from urban development, particularly around the nearby town of Berryville.
In cities, impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, and rooftops cause water to flow quickly over them instead of seeping into the ground, collecting sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants along the way. This stormwater runoff eventually carries these pollutants into local streams like the Kings River. To directly address these pressures, our grant project provides resources for a Low-Impact Development (LID) project, community education, and water quality monitoring.
We must ensure we prevent further pollutants from entering these waterways to ensure this beloved natural resource is preserved and protected for future generations to enjoy.
What We're Doing
This project contains multiple goals that will be accomplished over the three-year timeline that this project spans.
LID install at Berryville Library
Low-impact-development infrastructure will be installed at the new library’s 2.5-acre site. This will include rain gardens with native plants, bioswales, a detention pond basin, and infiltration trenches. LID can better capture and filter stormwater before it washes pollutants into local streams, and at the highly visible location it can serve as .
Landowner Workshops
We will hold three workshops for agricultural landowners in the region and discuss how agricultural best management practices can benefit both farmers and the water resources near them. Topics may range from riparian buffers, prescribed grazing, and nutrient management techniques.
Water Quality Monitoring
In collaboration with the Kings River Watershed Partnership, quarterly water samples will be collected at five sites along the Kings River and Osage Creek (a major tributary of the Kings). This data will be collected by H2Ozarks and sent to a state-certified lab to better evaluate water quality in the watershed.
Our Mission
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Get Involved!
We believe the best work takes place when we collaborate with our communities. Whether you’re a landowner, a student, or someone who cares about protecting clean water, there are many ways to engage and participate in this project.
Project Timeline
Project Partners
This project is made possible through collaboration between local organizations, businesses, and community groups who share a commitment to protecting the Kings River and clean water. This project is funded in part by a 319 grant from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Division.
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Testimonial
