One GREAT letter!! To Corp of Engineeers

[Big Bad Wulff]

As a person that has found himself in rising water when water shouldn't be rising, this letter hits a home run.
Also, to have done this to businesses in this economy is unconscionable!!
These boneheads at the Corp of Engineers have GOT to get their stuff together!!

Even though the person that wrote this placed it in a public setting, I have removed their name and other info.
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January 2010

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
LITTLE ROCK DISTRICT

Failure of the Corps and Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) to consider fishermen when executing water releases has caused anglers to go to other states to fish. Many will never return to the Beaver, Table Rock, Little Red, Norfork or Bull Shoal tailwaters and businesses suffer. In Heber Springs, the Little Red Fly Shop is closing, Elite Marine and Arkansas Boating Center have gone out of business, Anderson House Inn is for sale, other B & B's, boat docks and dozens of other businesses are struggling or closing. All shops in Heber Springs, Mountain View, Calico Rock, Mountain Home, Cotter, Flippin, etc. rely on tourism to make a living and high water has reduced tourist traffic.
Maintaining high lake levels requires frequent water releases which drives away the tourists from the lakes as well as the tailwaters. Refusing to lower lake levels now in anticipation of spring rains will send tourism even deeper into a tailspin.
Opening the flood gates would probably not be necessary if lake levels were drawn down in advance to store the occassional heavy rain event. At Greers Ferry, 451' should be closer to the norm than 461' especially January through April. I believe 451', or a compromise, would be of great assistance to the tourism industry. Keeping lake levels at or near top power pool means that water releases will be required after every rain event. It has been estimated that for every day the Little Red River is not fishable due to storm water runoff or water releases, the county loses one hundred thousand dollars in uncollected revenue!
Here is how the Corps can help. Reconsider the outdated (1966) Corps regulations. Much has changed in the last 44 years along Arkansas's tailwaters. The area population has exploded over the decades and tourism has become a crucial part of the economy. Your present day operating regulations do not reflect this growth in the tourist industry in northern Arkansas. Current release protocols are killing these businesses across the northern tier of counties in the natural state. Andrea Lewis, chief civilian at the Little Rock District, told me that there is, indeed, some room for variances on water release scheduling. I would like to see a few variances this year. Here is a good example of when a variance could have been used.
Last Easter weekend (4/12/09), the Greers Ferry Lake level was 3/100ths of a foot into the flood pool (461.47'). Someone decided to release water here for 18 hours per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the holiday weekend and turned the water off on Monday morning. Hundeds of bewildered people left town in disbelief. Releases could have easily been delayed until Monday with no harm. The reasoning behind that decision is why millions of dollars are being lost every year in our state. Simply consider how releases affect the tourism industry and do what you can to help. I realize that there will be times when the lakes are very high and nothing can be done to restrict releases. Giving tourism some consideration just on weekends and holidays would be a boon to the industry.
Tourism brings in millions of dollars to the state treasury and to hundreds of businesses every year. Crops grown near the White River, on the other hand, enrich a few farmers providing only a fraction of the income to the state that tourism generates. Giving priority to a handful of growers over the tourist industry is misdirected logic. The policy of holding water in the reservoirs until crops are harvested, angers both lake and river enthusiasts and unfairly burdens businesses that rely on recreation for their income. This old policy needs to be revised with a compromise and a nod to tourism. President John Kennedy, in his dedication speech given on the completion of the Greers Ferry Dam back in 1963, stated that this new lake and river would be a boon to the tourism industry of this region. We have a trout hatchery that supplies fish for the tourism industry but there is no way for the majority of anglers to participate in their sport when the rivers are high and swift most of the time. A change of water release protocols is in order.
Finally, Southwestern Power Administration does not understand how important water release schedules posted on the internet are to hundreds of anglers and businesses. SWPA believes that the information they provide is reliable and accurate when many times it is neither. Someone there needs to be assigned to do the release schedules who will immediately make changes when releases vary from the posted schedule. Water releases that occur when postings state otherwise can cause people to drown. Release what is posted or promptly change the posting to accurately reflect the change in releases especially on weekends and holidays!
Please reconsider water release protocols especially in this recession. I am, once again, contacting our U.S. senators for help with these matters.

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