us army corps of engineers logo - white castle on red background

Water Management

Greers Ferry Dam

Water Management

Water Management Responsibilities

The Reservoir Control Branch monitors and directs the release of water from 25 water resource projects in the Little Rock District in an attempt to meet the competing needs of many purposes.

Those purposes include flood control, hydropower, navigation, fish & wildlife, municipal & industrial water supply, and recreation. Some of the benefits to the nation and our region include.

Flood Management

Of the 25 water resources projects operated and maintained by the Little Rock District, 12 provide flood control benefits. Those 12 projects are: Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry, and Clearwater Lakes in the White River Basin; Blue Mountain and Nimrod Lakes in the Arkansas River Basin; and, Millwood, DeQueen, Gillham, and Dierks Lakes in the Little River Basin.

Over the past 10 years, these projects have averaged approximately $77.8 million in flood damages prevented each year.

 
Hydropower

Seven of Little Rock District's projects also produce electricity through hydropower generation. Those 7 projects are: Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry dams in the White River Basin; and, Ozark and Dardanelle locks and dams on the Arkansas River.

Since about 1987, the energy from these seven plants has been enough to furnish electricity to about 200,000 households each year. Annual benefits from the hydropower features at these plants are estimated to average $206.5 million each year. A portion of the revenues is applied to the operation and maintenance costs of these projects, a portion to the construction costs, and the rest is deposited into the national treasury. Additionally there are 4 non-federal run of the river hydropower projects located at Trimble, Ormond, Murray and Mills.

Navigation

The thirteen locks and dams on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System within the state of Arkansas represent the Little Rock District's navigation mission. Operation and maintenance of these 13 projects provides navigation to approximately 300 miles of the system with a total vertical lift of about 280 feet. The addition of Montgomery Point Lock & Dam in 2004, gives an added degree of reliability to the System.

Over the past 5 years, there has been an average of 11,313,553 tons of goods shipped each year on the Arkansas reach of the System.

Recreation, Fish and Wildlife

Corps lakes and parks play a huge role in the tourism-based regional economy. The Little Rock District consistently ranks in the top five Corps' districts nationwide based on project visitation. This is certainly an indication of our role in the regional economy.

Over the past 10 years, Little Rock District projects have averaged 180,464,600 visitor-hours per year. This figure does not include visits to State and private facilities located at our lakes and along our rivers. Our projects provide the opportunity for a quality outdoor experience in some of the best hunting and fishing territory the region has to offer. The White River tail water areas have produced two World Record Brown Trout in recent years.

Contact Us:


US Army Corp of Engineers
Engineering and Construction Division
Hydraulics and Technical Services Branch
P.O. Box 867
Little Rock , Arkansas 72203-0867
(501)324-6235
mailto:CESWL-WCWebmaster@usace.army.mil

Other Sites of Interest

·        The National Weather Service (NWS) is the agency responsible for issuing river forecasts and flood warnings for the United States

·        Generation Schedule - Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for marketing the hydroelectric power produced at Corps of Engineers multipurpose dams.  By law, the power and associated energy are marketed to publicly held entities such as rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities.

·        U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of surface and underground waters and disseminates the data to the public, State and local governments, public and private utilities, and other Federal agencies involved with managing our water resources.