Water Resource Inventory and Assessment (WRIA): Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge Arkansas, Desha, Monroe, and Phillips Counties, Arkansas U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Atlanta, Georgia April 2015 i Water Resource Inventory and Assessment: Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge Arkansas, Desha, Monroe, and Phillips Counties, Arkansas Lee Holt U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inventory and Monitoring Network Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge 2700 Refuge Headquarters Road Decatur, AL 35603 Kirsten J. Hunt Atkins North America, Inc. 1616 East Millbrook Road, Suite 310 Raleigh, NC 27609 April 2015 U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Please cite this publication as: Holt, R.L. and K.J. Hunt. 2015. Water Resource Inventory and Assessment (WRIA): Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, Desha, Monroe and Phillips counties, Arkansas. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region. Atlanta, Georgia. 150 pp. + appendices. COVER PHOTO: Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge. Photo credit: Matt Savage, USFWS Forestry Technician i Acknowledgments This work was completed through contract PO# F11PD00794 and PO# F14PB00569 between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Atkins North America, Inc. Information for this report was compiled through coordination with multiple state and federal partners and non-governmental agencies. Significant input and reviews for this process was provided by staff at Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge and specifically included assistance from Jeff Denman, Jay Hitchcock, Ron Hollis, and John Stark. Additional review and editorial comments were provided by John Faustini (USFWS), Jim Petersen (USGS), Jason Phillips (USFWS), and Keith Whalen (USFS). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ii Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Key Water Resources Issues of Concern ....................................................................................... 4 1.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 5 2 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 6 3 Facility Information ............................................................................................................................... 8 4 Natural Setting .................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Region of Hydrologic Influence (RHI) .......................................................................................... 14 4.2 Topography and Landforms ........................................................................................................ 16 4.3 Geology and Hydrogeology ......................................................................................................... 19 4.4 Soils ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4.5 Hydrology and Geomorphology .................................................................................................. 29 4.6 Anthropogenic Landscape Changes ............................................................................................ 32 4.6.1 Land Clearing and Conversion to Agriculture ..................................................................... 32 4.6.2 Flood Control....................................................................................................................... 33 4.6.3 Refuge ................................................................................................................................. 33 4.6.4 Recent Land Use Change ..................................................................................................... 33 4.7 Climate ........................................................................................................................................ 34 4.7.1 Historical Climate ................................................................................................................ 34 4.7.2 Climate Change Projections ................................................................................................ 41 5 Inventory Summary and Discussion .................................................................................................... 46 5.1 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 46 5.1.1 Rivers/Streams/Creeks ........................................................................................................ 46 5.1.2 Canals and Drainage Ditches ............................................................................................... 46 5.1.3 Lakes/Ponds ........................................................................................................................ 50 5.1.4 Springs and Seeps ............................................................................................................... 50 5.1.5 Wetlands ............................................................................................................................. 54 5.2 Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................. 57 5.2.1 Water Control Structures .................................................................................................... 57 5.2.2 Impoundments, Moist Soil Impoundments and Green Tree Reservoirs ............................ 57 5.2.3 Water Supply Wells ............................................................................................................. 58 5.2.4 Inventory Dams ................................................................................................................... 58 iii 5.2.5 Dikes and Levees ................................................................................................................. 58 5.2.6 Roads ................................................................................................................................... 64 5.2.7 Other Water Resources Infrastructure ............................................................................... 64 5.3 Water Monitoring ....................................................................................................................... 64 5.3.1 Surface Water ..................................................................................................................... 64 5.3.2 Groundwater ....................................................................................................................... 78 5.4 Water Quantity and Timing ........................................................................................................ 82 5.4.1 Historical Streamflows ........................................................................................................ 82 5.4.2 Historical Groundwater ....................................................................................................... 85 5.4.3 Current and Projected Future Groundwater Resources ..................................................... 90 5.4.4 Hydrologic Alterations ........................................................................................................ 91 5.4.5 Arkansas Minimum Flows and Levels ................................................................................. 98 5.4.6 Land Use Activities Affecting Water Quantity and Timing ................................................ 102 5.5 Water Quality Conditions.......................................................................................................... 109 5.5.1 Federal and State Water Quality Regulations ................................................................... 109 5.5.2 Impaired Waters, TMDLs, and NPDES Permits ................................................................. 110 5.5.3 Groundwater Quality ........................................................................................................ 115 5.5.4 Land Use Activities Affecting Water Quality ..................................................................... 116 5.6 Water Law/Water Rights .......................................................................................................... 117 5.6.1 State Water Law Overview ............................................................................................... 117 5.6.2 Legal or Regulatory Issues Potentially Affecting the Refuge ............................................ 122 5.6.3 Aspects of State Water Law that May Negatively Affect the Station ............................... 122 6 Assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 123 6.1 Water Resource Issues of Concern 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