The fate of Lake Bella Vista is still somewhat tenuous, thanks to an advocacy group vowing to fight construction of a new dam on Little Sugar Creek.
More than $2.7 million surfaced last month to replace Lake Bella Vista's ailing dam. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the funding Sept. 29, which will cover the demolition, removal and disposal of the original earthen dam at the north end of the lake, as well as the materials and labor required to build a replacement dam, according to a news release.
Greg Van Horn, leader of Friends of Little Sugar Creek, a group that campaigned to have the dam removed so the creek could return to its natural state, said in a statement he was disappointed with FEMA's announcement.
"People from Northwest Arkansas oppose their valuable tax dollars being spent to reconstruct this obsolete dam which impounds a silted and shallow reservoir where swimming is prohibited, fishing is unsustainable and water quality is poor," Van Horn wrote. "Restoring the flow of Little Sugar Creek by removing the dam would recreate a living, moving Ozark waterway; eliminate harmful algae blooms which de-oxygenate water and kill aquatic animals and plants; and provide new opportunities for family recreation along the creek."
On Monday, Van Horn said his group plans to continue gathering support for restoring Little Sugar Creek.
"(Bentonville) has never invited any kind of public discussion on the issue," Van Horn said. "We want to compare what the benefits of restoration are to dam construction. Take it to the people and let democracy work. We're not anti-dam. We're pro-creek and pro-natural resources, and because of that, oppose the dam."
Damage control
Bentonville has sought funding to repair the dam since 2008, when it was over-topped by floodwater. The dam was built in the fall of 1915 and has been damaged by storms several times during the intervening 100 years, including another large flood in 2011.
"This project is seven years in the making," Ben Peters, Bentonville city engineer, said after FEMA's announcement. "We're glad to see something coming to fruition."
Bentonville annexed the 132-acre property, including Lake Bella Vista, in October 2005. The acreage included the dam and surrounding trails. Bentonville's Parks and Recreation Department oversees the property. No structural repairs have been made to the dam in recent years, Peters said.
The city is negotiating a contract with Chiang, Patel & Yerby to get designs drawn for a new dam, Peters said. The initial process could take six to nine months, with construction taking two or three years, Peters said.
FEMA's grant is a 75 percent federal cost share of the $2.7 million price tag. But Bentonville's contribution to the project could be close to zero if the city secures grants from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Peters said.
Environmental
assessment
CP&Y originally was tapped in February 2012 to replace the dam. Bentonville's City Council was scheduled to vote on awarding CP&Y a $513,000 design contract "for a concrete-faced earth-fill dam," according to a report from the Benton County Daily Record.
The entire project was slated to cost about $3.5 million, but Bentonville would pay only 12.5 percent of the sum thanks to FEMA money and state grants.
However, FEMA wouldn't confirm the money and the project was placed on hold, according to the report.
In March 2012, FEMA "determined that an environmental assessment was required prior to moving forward with the city's application for FEMA funding," said Terri Romine-Ortega, a FEMA public affairs specialist.
Bentonville aldermen in March 2013 unanimously approved a $200,000 contract with CP&Y to perform an environmental assessment, according to the Daily Record.
CP&Y found the current dam to be in severe disrepair, noting "evidence of cracking and spalling of the concrete ... (flood gates) in poor and almost inoperable condition. There are also substantial underseepage and slope stability issues."
The current dam is 14 feet tall and 600 feet long, according to data from the National Dam Inventory, a database maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One of the dam's most noticeable deficiencies is that it lacks a clay core, Peters said. The dam also is incapable of conveying a large storm event.
The NID's last inspection of the dam was in 1979, when it found the lake's storage was 183 acre-feet, which is nearly 60 million gallons of water. By comparison, Lake Norwood, the smallest lake in Bella Vista, has a storage of 1,320 acre-feet (about 430 million gallons), per the NID. It is unclear how much water Lake Bella Vista stores now.
CP&Y proposed two options in its EA: taking no action or building a new dam.
If no action is taken, "the dam is likely to experience additional failure (by advancement of the existing partial breach through the crown of the dam toward the lake), ultimately extending into the normal pool of the lake and resulting in a complete failure and uncontrolled release of the lake contents (water and sediment)," according to CP&Y's assessment.
CP&Y recommended constructing a new dam at the same height and within the footprint of the old one.
The new dam -- a zone earthfill embankment -- will have concrete facing on its upstream and downstream slopes. The spillway will consist of a "reinforced concrete overflow weir, with reinforced concrete-lined approach section and discharge basin" that will match the lake's current normal operating level and provide approximately the same spillway discharge capacity as the two existing spillways, according to the firm.
"Duel outlet gates" in the spillway weir section will help for lowering the lake when necessary, CP&Y wrote.
Public backlash
FEMA received 69 responses during the public comment period for the environmental assessment, according to FEMA documents obtained from Peters.
Roughly 83 percent of responses opposed rebuilding or replacing the earthen dam. Opponents argued the environmental assessment was lackluster, flawed and charged CP&Y with a conflict of interest.
"The EA, performed by CP&Y ... will likely be the same firm rebuilding the new dam," wrote Alice Andrews. " This appears to be a serious conflict of interest."
Ali Phillips, of Bentonville, opposed rebuilding the dam and claimed the firm took liberties to ensure a new dam was built.
CP&Y studied alternatives in its assessment, which included rehabilitation of the current dam and relocation or returning Little Sugar Creek to a free-flowing steam.
Both alternatives were dismissed, with CP&Y arguing that restoring the creek would be "inconsistent with the deed restrictions undertaken when (Bentonville) purchased (the lake) ... (Doing so) would completely eliminate (the lake) as a park amenity ... (and) greatly affect the ability of the public to enjoy lake habitats for recreational purposes."
Opponents say that language doesn't exist in the deed.
"That interpretation of the deed is inaccurate, and the fact that the deed was not attached to the EA does not allow FEMA to make its own assessment of this 'fact,'" Phillips wrote. "In reality, the deed only states that the area be preserved for 'recreation.' It does not contain any statement that the dam -- or any type of impoundment -- is required to satisfy this purpose."
The exact language from the deed states that "the use of the property is further restricted and burdened and shall be used exclusively for public passive recreational activities and only structures and maintenance related to passive recreational activities may be built and constructed thereon."
Meanwhile, Dr. J. Van Brahana, a professor emeritus in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas, said the EA was incomplete.
"I am greatly concerned that an adequate environmental assessment of the karst contiguous and underlying Lake Bella Vista has not been undertaken," Van Brahana wrote. "It is my strong opinion that ... impacts on endangered species living within this karst ecosystem are significantly understated, and are likely misrepresented."
There are "two federally-listed organisms" -- the Ozark cavefish and Ozark crayfish -- "known from the springs, wells and caves within several miles of Lake Bella Vista," he wrote.
The dam was constructed near a basement fracture, Van Brahana wrote, and the "ancient feature ... cuts across Little Sugar Creek less than 1,000 feet upstream of (the lake), a distance that lies well within the zone of influence of groundwater in this karst setting."
The respondents who support replacing the dam, and thus keeping the lake, cited history and aesthetics.
John Blair, a former project manager with the Federal Energy Regulator Commission, spent 18 years licensing dams across the country. He wants to see the dam replaced.
"My personal bent is the aesthetic appeal," Blair said. "(Lake Bella Vista) has been the focal point for 100 years. It's the entry to Bella Vista. For it to be removed would be a travesty."
Revised assessment
Peters submitted a revised EA to FEMA in mid June.
FEMA in June asked Peters to submit a revised assessment. The agency wanted to see the book and page of the document containing the deed restriction, as well as further information regarding geotechnical investigating in the area. The latter stems from comments showing concern over the karst geology in the dam area, Peters said.
FEMA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact Aug. 28. The agency accepted Bentonville's interpretation of the deed and concluded "karst geology does not exist in the project area."
That Lake Bella Vista will remain a touchstone of the community was good news to Carole Harter, president of the Bella Vista Historical Society.
"I think it is an excellent thing that this dam will be improved so that the longevity of the lake is more assured," Harter said. "The value (the lake) shows to the community is evidenced by the number of people who are using it on a daily basis."
Xyta Lucas, a docent at the museum, also was excited upon hearing FEMA's announcement.
"I am thrilled that FEMA has decided to help fund the reconstruction of the dam for Lake Bella Vista," Lucas wrote in an email. "We have a hundred years of history revolving around that lake that we do not want to lose."
General News on 10/07/2015