FTN was selected as part of a team to assist the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission with updating the Arkansas Water Plan, which was last updated in 1988. This project covered a broad scope of water resources activities, including the following:
- Coordination with ANRC and other state agencies, communities, and stakeholders, as well as facilitation of technical stakeholder meetings;
- Identification and summarization of the current water resources issues facing the state;
- Development of planning strategies for long-term management of the state’s surface water and groundwater resources through 2050;
- Evaluation of alternatives for meeting the water needs of the state’s municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users;
- Acquisition, generation, and analysis of GIS data and preparation of regional background reports describing land use, geography, areas of environmental concern, surface and groundwater, watersheds, aquifers, water quantity and quality, water supply availability, existing and future water demand (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and energy), demographics, economics, and social setting; The regional background reports also included legal framework of water resources laws and state programs.
- Compilation of existing data on water supply and demand;
- Evaluation of the state’s water infrastructure, including priorities and recommendations for meeting future needs;
- Development of an outreach strategy, including preparation of newsletters, news releases, editorials, and coordination of public meetings.
