1. Arkansas Water Plan
&
Non-Riparian Water Use
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
Little Rock, Arkansas
Saline River, near Benton AR

2. Overview
 State Resources
 Current State Water Plan
 Title
III - Non-Riparian Water Use
Program
 State Water Plan Update

3. ANRC Mission Statement:
“To manage and protect our water
and land resources for the health,
safety and economic benefit of the
State of Arkansas.”

4. The Natural State
 Average 54 inches of rainfall annually
 Population approximately 2.7 million
 600,000 acres of lakes
 9,700 miles of streams and rivers
 2 ½ million acres of national forests
 6 national park sites
 7 national scenic byways
 3 state scenic byways
 50 state parks
Kings River Falls – near Boston, AR

5. State Water Use
Fish & Wildlife Enhancement Agriculture
Industry Recreation

6. Current Arkansas Water Plan

7. The Arkansas Water Plan
 Arkansas Code § 15-22-503 (1969)
 “…a comprehensive program for the
orderly development and management of
the state’s water and related land
resources…”
 “..the plan shall be the state policy for the
development of water and related land
resources in this state…”

8. Pre- and Post-1969
1939 Report 1975 Report

9. 1990 Revision
http://www.anrc.arkansas.gov/StateWaterPlan.html
System inventories Water Plan Compliance
12 Basin reports & Executive Summary

10. Arkansas Basin Reports
 Defined by drainage
basins of principle
rivers
 Quantification of
surface &
groundwater
 Baseline for water
management activities

11. Challenges Identified in 1990
 Project financing
 Surface water supply
 Ground water depletion
 Availability of excess surface water
 Non-point source pollution
 Recreation
 Lack of public awareness of water issues

12. Results of 1990 Recommendations
 General obligation bond program
 Revised ANRC surface water rules
 Arkansas Groundwater Protection and
Management Act (1991)
 Tax credit programs for conversion from
ground to surface water use
 Non-point pollution program in cooperation
with EPA
 Excess surface water projects

13. Title III - RULES FOR THE UTILIZATION
OF SURFACE WATER
 Water Use Registration Program
 Non-Riparian Water Use Permit Program
 Excess Surface Water
 defined as 25% of the average annual yield from any
watershed above that amount required to satisfy all of
the following:
• Registered use prior to 1989
• Firm yield of all affected reservoirs existing on June 28, 1985
• Maintenance of minimum stream flows where established
• Future projected water needs

14. Water Rights
 Reasonable Use Doctrine
 “fair share”
 Associated with land
 Allocation priorities
 Sustain life
 Maintain health
 Increase wealth

15. Riparian vs. Non-Riparian
Riparian Water Use - Use of surface waters on
land that is contiguous to the source surface
water
 Includes easements and leased land if the
lease or easement was acquired prior to March
1, 1990.
Non-Riparian Water Use – Use of surface
water on land that is not contiguous to the
surface water

16. Water Rights associated with land
Non-Riparian
Riparian Land

17. Rule of Thumb
If the water will cross
property lines before use,
an application must be
submitted to be in
compliance with the
program.

18. SWP Basin Annual Stream-flows
Permitted Totals As Of September 2011
Basin Name ARKANSAS DELTA/EAST ARK RED RIVER OUACHITA WHITE
Drainage (SQMI) 10,409 11,210 4,488 13,067 11,684
Basin SW Yield (AC-FT) 29,900,000 62,600,000 25,418,689 16,400,000 18,300,000
Instream Flow (AC-FT) 18,600,000 39,100,000 15,251,088 10,500,000 11,200,000
Future Needs (AC-FT) 600,000 1,500,000 860,073 1,500,000 300,000
Available SW (AC-FT) 10,700,000 16,700,000 9,307,744 4,400,000 6,800,000
Excess (AC-FT) 2,700,000 4,200,000 2,326,936 1,100,000 1,700,000
Permitted (AC-FT) 126,061 674,815 0 126,085 43,107
Percent of Excess Permitted 5% 16% 0% 11.5% 2.5%

19. Dense
Activity
Counties

20. Regional Planning

21. Water Plan UPDATE 2011-2014

22. Ongoing Revision
 The plan “…shall from time to time be
revised, updated, and amended as new
information, projects and developments
shall occur…” Arkansas Code 15-22-504
 This is an ongoing process: the annual
report on groundwater, project
approvals, and other research and
planning, build the body of knowledge
under the plan

23. Potential for Arkansas Water Plan
Comprehensive Revision
 We can learn from other state’s recent efforts
 Public participation component
 The process should be comprehensive, since
the legislature intended the plan to guide our
public water policy: “All state
agencies, commissions, and political
subdivisions shall take the plan into
consideration in all matters pertaining to the
discharge of their respective duties and
responsibilities…”

24. Major Components
 Law and policy research and
discussion
 Public education and outreach
 Technical analysis
 Current supply/quality
 Future supply
 Current infrastructure
 Future infrastructure

25. Broad Process Steps
 Scoping
 Resource inventories and data gathering
 Forecasting availability, need, & limitations
 Management strategy development
(Public participation begins)(Regional
basis)
 Plan development (Heavy public
involvement)(Regional basis)
 Plan implementation and updating

26. 2011 Actions
 Appoint a small scoping committee
 Scoping meetings
 Solicit engineering/environmental
firms to conduct resource
assessments of surface and ground
water and infrastructure
 Water education program

27. “Water encyclopedia”

28. Projected timeline for Arkansas Water Plan update
2011 2012 2013 2014
Legislature
Water education program
Policy review and public involvement
Scoping Draft Legislation
Resource assessments
Forecasting
Technical phase
Regional management
strategy formulation
Draft plan &
Public review
Planning phase
28

29. Conclusion
 State Resources
 State Water Plan (Current & Update)
 Non-Riparian Water Use
 Take home message: Update to the state water plan is currently
underway, and your input is needed!
 Stay informed:
• www.anrc.arkansas.gov
• www.Arkansaswater.org
• Facebook: Arkansas Water Plan
 Get involved:
• Water education program
• Data collection/review
• Policy review
• Public meetings
 ANRC is working cooperatively with stakeholders, state and federal
agencies, industry personnel, and the public to ensure that we protect
the states abundant water resources within the scope of our authority

30. QUESTIONS?
 Dannielle.Gray@arkansas.gov
 (501) 682-3915