Thursday, May 02, 2013
Tony Freeman, an airline pilot who lives outside Beaver, has lived in the area for 40 years. His property is near the preferred route for the proposed new SWEPCO high voltage transmission line, and he fears much of what he values at his home could be destroyed.
“It is going to absolutely devastate my view,” Freeman said. “The power line comes within three hundred feet. While the line doesn’t touch my property, I’m affected dramatically. It’s really upsetting.”
Freeman also has concerns about how the project could impact the most endangered animal species in the state, the fresh water mussel.
“While taking daily walks on the White River banks, my neighbors took notice of an odd little animal that we probably all have seen numerous times if we have spent any time at all on the local lakes and waterways,” Freeman said. “This animal is the fresh water mussel. The point of concern for us is that the fresh water mussel is the most endangered species in the state of Arkansas, and the second most endangered group of animals in North America.”
Freshwater mussels are an indication of superior water quality, and threats include erosion, development, and sand and gravel mining, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Growing up in Eureka Springs, Freeman didn’t understand that the bald eagle could possibly be an endangered species as he observed thousands of them in the course of a year.
“We were quite fortunate, and still are today to live in an area where these majestic animals are so abundant,” Freeman said. “I say this to illustrate a point. The same is true with the White River mussel. I have observed these animals for as long as I can remember yet I have failed to truly take notice of them. You can find their discarded shells by the thousands along the banks of the White River. One only need look down into the water for a few minutes and you will see one at some point along the banks, yet they are the single most endangered species in the state. We live in an area where they dwell in abundance.”
Freeman said the White River mussel is a living filter. It dwells in silt and mud and eats impurities. It is a living, breathing indicator of the basic health of the waters it lives in. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refers to freshwater mussels as “the canaries of the deep,” and states the greatest threats to the fresh water mussel family include erosion from building projects and ingestion of herbicides. If the “canaries of the deep” are harmed by construction erosion and herbicide runoff, the same contaminants could impact drinking water supplies for a large portion of Northwest Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Health has sent out notices to 13 public water systems notifying them of proposed routes that cross the Beaver Lake Watershed.
“Beaver Lake is a drinking water source for much of Northwest Arkansas,” the ADH letter states. “Every effort should be taken to prevent any sediment from construction run-off from entering Beaver Lake and its tributaries before, during or after construction. Many drinking water transmission mains exist on or near the proposed routes. Any utility in question should be contacted prior to construction.”
Freeman said when very steep hillsides are denuded of trees and other vegetation, then sprayed with herbicides to prevent re-growth, the bare ground is susceptible to erosion, especially during heavy rainfall.
“When the ground is bare, it will absolutely erode more rapidly,” he said. “The power company may or may not plant ground cover to control erosion. No matter what, they irreversibly alter the runoff.”
Rene Fonseca, a water operator for the Carroll Boone Water District, said spraying chemicals on the land has the potential to adversely impact water quality not just for people drinking it, but also for all manner of living creatures. He added that CBWD does not test the drinking water for herbicides.
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