Beaver Water District Retains Steady Stream

If he were Emperor, Larry Lloyd would not allow anyone into the Beaver Lake watershed.
But Lloyd, chief operating officer of the Beaver Water District, truly cares about his work. He wants to provide the cleanest water possible to Northwest Arkansas.
The challenges that stand in his way are keeping up with the ever-growing population and the problem of pollution.
The BWD supplies water to more than 350,000 people in Northwest Arkansas. The water is sold to four customer cities: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville. Those cities resell water to neighboring towns, such as Bella Vista, Lowell, Tontitown and Elkins.
Today, the BWD has a capacity of pumping 100 million gallons per day (MGD) from Beaver Lake. In 2009, with renovation completed at the district’s Steele plant, 140 MGD will be possible. The additional water will come just in time as the BWD expects the water demand to be 100 MGD in 2010.
“We like to believe we’re staying just ahead of the game,” Lloyd said. “We’re not building stuff that’s outlandishly oversized, but we’re looking very close at the needs, monitoring population projections and updates and water demands.”
Lloyd is proud of the BWD’s fiscal responsibility. The district puts part of its revenue aside to help fund its projects. The BWD is spending about $93 million to build the facilities it needs. Of that, about $35 million comes from the BWD’s earmarked savings while the rest comes from bond sales.
“We’re one of the few utilities around that actually has saved money to have a cash reserve to help meet future demands,” he said.
The 140 MGD capacity though will also need to be expanded in about 2020. Then, the BWD will need to build an additional water plant.
A more long-term worry, Lloyd said, is having enough water in Beaver Lake to supply area needs. Current population projections say that around 2055, there will be more than a million people in need of water in Northwest Arkansas. The BWD doesn’t have access to enough water to meet those needs.
The Southwestern Power Administration controls 80 percent of the usable lake water. To supply the thirst of Northwest Arkansas in 50 years, the BWD will need access to more water.
“What we’ll have to do is lobby Congress to reallocate, take water away from Southwestern Power, cheap hydro power, and give it to municipal water supplies in Northwest Arkansas,” Lloyd said.
While there are quantity concerns, another concern is quality. Intensified development around Beaver Lake opens the opportunity for increased pollution, deteriorating the lake’s water quality. Lloyd said the district is not anti-development, but it does believe that developers need to make responsible decisions.
“The more people that are here, the more water we sell,” Lloyd said. “That’s great, but we do believe it ought to be smart growth. It ought to be wise choices where people move. It ought to be good development practices.”