SEARCY — Agricultural producers concerned with water quantity and quality in the Little Red River watershed may be eligible for financial and technical assistance because of a new U.S. Department of Agriculture special project.
Announced in mid-April, the Little Red River Irrigation Environmental Quality Incentives Program will provide $350,000 for eligible landowners and operators to assist in conservation practices in order to reduce groundwater depletion. The program would help conserve the Alluvial and Sparta aquifers, increase surface-water quantity for crops and improve water quality.
The Alluvial, or Mississippi River Valley Alluvial, aquifer serves as a source of groundwater for much of eastern Arkansas, as well as many other adjacent states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS also notes that “Arkansas is the fourth largest user of groundwater in the United States,” furthering the argument for the project and the assistance slated to be provided by the USDA.
The USGS website, meanwhile,
pointed to the Sparta aquifer as a more confined and regionally important groundwater source. However, water levels in some areas of this aquifer have been dropping just as they have in the Alluvial aquifer.
The project area includes 83,838 acres southeast of Searcy, according to a USDA press release, and that area includes 34,000 acres of irrigated cropland. The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission has designated this area as a critical groundwater-use area.
“Many new surface-water sources were constructed through previous conservation efforts in the project area, but there are still many unmet conservation needs. This funding will help us continue addressing water-quantity and -quality issues within the project area,” Amanda Mathis, White County district conservationist, said in a press release.
The project funds will be paid to producers through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Limited-resource and socially disadvantaged producers will receive higher financial-assistance rates.
“Landowners will make the final decision on practices to be installed and operation of the on-farm irrigation system,” USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Mike Sullivan said in a press release. “They will own, operate and maintain the on-farm components of the project and will be responsible for management of their irrigation system.”
The NRCS has the authority to help local organizations and government entities plan and implement watershed projects, according to the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program — which includes the Little Red River project — is a voluntary conservation program that helps producers promote production, as well as environmental quality.
The deadline to apply for the funds is May 15. Producers can find and file applications for project funds with the NRCS at the Searcy Field Service Center, 801 Airport Loop in Searcy. For more information, call (501) 268-5866, ext. 3.
Staff writer Angela Spencer contributed to this article. She can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansas
online.com.