Sparta Front Page
La. repays Arkansas for Sparta efforts
Commission provides $32K reimbursement
Laura Bond, Reporter
07-31-2009
North Louisiana is experiencing small benefits from Arkansas water conservation and accompanying monitoring efforts, and one state group is recognizing the assistance with financial reimbursement.
During the meeting of the Louisiana Groundwater Commission hosted in Ruston on Tuesday, the commission approved a request to pay Arkansas’ Union County Water Conservation Board $32,746 to help fund the cost of wells designed to monitor water recovery efforts.
The Sparta Aquifer — which runs through both Arkansas and North Louisiana and serves as a primary source of drinking water — is in danger of running out. For decades, the water has been sucked out of the ground faster than it can be replenished by rainfall, and dropping water levels have caused saltwater encroachment, which has impacted the quality of water in some areas.
For several years, Arkansas has been taking steps to address the problem with the declining levels of water in the underground aquifer. Stakeholders in Union County initiated groundwater reuse and tapped the Ouachita River as an alternative water source for Union County’s largest three industrial users of the Sparta Aquifer. To measure the fruits of their conservation efforts and $65 million surface water project, the Union County Water Conservation Board joined with the Environmental Protection Agency, Burns & McDonnell Engineers and the U.S. Geological survey. In 2002, the team installed monitoring wells — 21 in Arkansas and seven in N. La. — to gauge Sparta Aquifer levels and quality. Louisiana parishes tapped for wells included Union, Claiborne and Morehouse.
The $32,746 the Louisiana Groundwater Commission has allocated to the Arkansas group covers approximately one-fourth of the annual well monitoring cost. The proposal was introduced by Gene Coleman on behalf of the Sparta Groundwater Commission. Coleman said data from the monitoring wells indicate the efforts in Arkansas have bled over to slightly recharge some of the aquifer water levels that have declined in Louisiana.
When groundwater commissioners sought his input, Ben McGee, with the USGS, said he believed the data collected from the monitoring wells could be beneficial in Louisiana because it provides a continuous record of Sparta recovery. McGee said Arkansas’ efforts will likely extend to impact aquifer levels in Union, Claiborne and parts of Lincoln Parish. He warned, however, that Arkansas’ efforts would reach an equilibrium.
Commission Chair and State Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle said Louisiana could not ride on Arkansas’ efforts alone; initiatives were needed in this state.
Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation James Welch indicated finding alternative water sources would be necessary to save the Sparta.
“It’s not rocket science,” Welch said at the meeting. “Stop using the Sparta Aquifer and go to an alternative source.”
Lincoln and Union parishes are awaiting word on funding to for a project that would allow their water districts to draw water from Lake D’Arbonne as a substitute for the Sparta Aquifer. Louisiana Tech University plans to build a pond for its irrigation needs in place of the aquifer, and West Monroe is constructing a plant that would take the industry Graphic Packaging off Sparta water by utilizing treated wastewater.
Approximately 44 percent of Sparta Aquifer usage is by industries.
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Parish usage
Ouachita Parish has been cited as one of the largest users of the Sparta Aquifer, followed by Bienville Parish. The high rate in Bienville Parish has been attributed to the withdrawal of water there for use by Smurfit Stone industry in Jackson Parish.
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