The study area is bounded by the Arkansas and White Rivers between navigation miles 0 and 10 for the White River and river miles 0 and 35 for the Arkansas River. Major natural features in the area include several old river lakes, natural historic cutoffs, the White River National Wildlife Refuge and Trusten Holder State Wildlife Management Area. This area is heavily forested. There is currently an abandoned railroad embankment with bridges over the White and Arkansas Rivers running through the study area. The Corps of Engineers has constructed a non-overflow containment structure in the historic cutoff, an overflow containment structure from the railroad embankment to the non-overflow structure and the Melinda Head Cut Structure. Montgomery Point Lock and Dam are being constructed at the mouth of the White River. The study area is flooded by the Arkansas River, the White River, the Mississippi River, and combinations thereof.

This was a feasibility level study of existing conditions, which will include plan formulation, environmental concerns and opportunities, and engineering evaluations. Disciplines included in this study are Civil Engineering, Hydrology, Hydraulics, Sedimentation, Cost Engineering, Planning, Geotechnical, Environmental and Economics.

Included in this study are the necessary hydrology and hydraulics studies and computations to develop the basic decision factors for evaluating existing conditions and alternatives. This includes a statistical analysis of the discharge - elevation-frequency - duration of the Arkansas, White, and Mississippi Rivers such that design criteria can be developed. A TABS-2 two-dimensional hydraulic model was developed for the study area utilizing the existing survey data and quadrangle maps. This model was used to analyze flow regimes in the study area. Boundary conditions were developed for the Mississippi, Arkansas and White Rivers using LRD-1, UNET, and TABS-2 mathematical models.