Watershed Facts

What is a watershed?

A watershed is an area of land where any water that falls in it will flow back to a single source, like a river or lake. The boundaries of a watershed are defined by the high points on a landscape. Think of watersheds like bowls or funnels; natural land features like mountain ridges or hills are the top edges, and water flows down the sides into valleys or low points. Watersheds are important because the land around a water body affects its health and quality. By understanding what watershed we live in, we can understand how our actions on land impact the water around us.

What watershed do I live in?

The main watershed of the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri is the Upper White River watershed. This watershed is home to over a million people across both states, covering an area of over 14,000 square miles. It contains many of our most popular and beloved lakes like Table Rock Lake, the James River, Lake Taneycomo, Bull Shoals Lake, Beaver Lake, the Kings River, and over 2,700 miles of streams. In Missouri, these waters are important for everything from wildlife and aquatic habitat, outdoor recreation, trout fishing, hydropower generation, flood control, and economic growth through tourism. Additionally, Beaver Lake is the drinking water source for over 500,000 people living in Northwest Arkansas. Protecting these water resources means we’re ensuring our communities, our homes, and the cherished natural beauty of the Ozarks thrives for generations to come.

To learn more about which watershed you live in, you can look on a map.

Arkansas: Find My Watershed

Missouri: How’s My Waterway

Why are watersheds important for water quality?

When it rains in a watershed where many people live, all the rainwater flows across impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, and driveways, instead of seeping into the ground. Along this journey, the water picks up contaminants like motor oil, heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, pet waste, debris, trash, and dirt. This runoff will flush all these pollutants into our creeks, rivers, and lakes. Over time, these pollutants can affect the health of the water, making it unsafe to swim, play, or drink from.

What are challenges to water quality in the Ozarks?

Many places with growing populations and rapid urban development face added demands and pressure on their water resources. Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri are some of the fastest-growing regions in their states, which in turn requires more water to sustain those communities. Careful planning and resource management are needed to ensure we maintain long-term water quality.

On top of this, we have unique challenges in that the Upper White River watershed is located on mantled karst topography. Karst topography is common in the Ozarks region. It’s made from dissolved limestone and dolomite bedrock that creates complex underground networks like streams, caves and sinkholes. Water can penetrate cracks and fractures within the rock, and travel quickly through underground systems into aquifers and water tables, instead of seeping slowly through the ground where it can be filtered. This means polluted water, like from runoff or failing septic systems  can make its way underground, and karst systems are very sensitive to contamination.

Although the challenges to water quality in our region are real, we believe that the greatest solutions are found when we work together. Learn how we’re protecting the upper white river watershed in Arkansas with our watershed management plan