Press Article: Arkansas Groundwater Report Highlights Trends and Concerns
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Department of Agriculture has released its 2024 Groundwater Levels and Trends report, revealing a mix of encouraging and alarming findings about the state’s groundwater status. While groundwater withdrawal levels in eastern and southern Arkansas continue to be "unsustainable," there are signs of recovery in some aquifers.
The report highlights a slight rebound in groundwater levels over the past decade for the Alluvial aquifer, which runs along Arkansas’s eastern border, and notes improvements in the Sparta aquifer, particularly in Union and Jefferson counties. Despite these positive trends, the report emphasizes the urgent need for ongoing monitoring, data collection, conservation efforts, and strategic water use planning to address larger withdrawal issues.
Secretary of Agriculture, Wes Ward, underscored the critical nature of groundwater, stating that approximately 71% of Arkansas’s water consumption depends on it, with crop irrigation accounting for about 80% of total demand. Ensuring sustainable groundwater resources is vital for agriculture and essential for providing safe drinking water to Arkansans.
To bolster water management efforts, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Executive Order 23-27 in August 2023, initiating a comprehensive update of the state’s water plan—its first since 2014. The first phase of the update, which identifies key goals, is expected to be completed in 2024, with the second phase slated for completion by 2026.
As Arkansas grapples with these groundwater challenges, the recent report serves as both a call to action and a beacon of hope, pointing towards potential recovery while underscoring the necessity for sustained efforts in groundwater management.
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