LINCOLN -- The water cut deeply into the side of the stream bank that runs beside Elfie Davis' home. Flooding created a cliff of bare dirt and exposed tree roots several feet high instead of a normal bank.
The 88-year-old woman loses land, inch-by-inch, as the stream widens closer and closer to her home. One day, the stream could swallow her house, Davis said.
Flood damage assessment continues
State and county emergency management officials say assessment of damages from the April 28 and 29 flooding is ongoing. No final cost estimates were available last week, and there is no time line for when the process will be finished. Even if the county is approved for state and federal aid, it could be a long time before locals see any money. Washington County, for example, was paid about $400,000 recently to help pay for damages from a flood in December 2015.
Source: Staff report
Stop pollution with stream bank stabilization
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, through the Stream Team Program, does many stream restoration and stream bank stabilization projects statewide yearly. Sediment is the No. 1 pollutant to state waters. Exact numbers for stabilization projects were not immediately available.
Source: Sean Saunders, Region I, Stream Team coordinator, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
"You see how close it gets," she said while standing on the bank. "You never know."
The stream, once about 50 feet away from her house is within 12 feet in some places. It eventually winds its way to the Baron Fork in the Illinois River watershed.*
During April's flooding, water jumped the bank, stripped away trees and left a watermark line on Davis' home.
Stream bank erosion puts about 137,000 tons of sediment and 86,540 pounds of phosphorus into Beaver Lake, said John Pennington, executive director of the Beaver Watershed Alliance. The group seeks to maintain high quality drinking water in the Beaver Lake watershed, according to the group's website.
Erosion is among the top pollutants in the lake and affects quality of life, he said.
"It really is a serious water quality issue," he said.
Washing Away
Heavy rain and increased construction in Northwest Arkansas contribute to escalating stream bank erosion, said Nicole Hardiman, executive director of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.
The partnership tries to improve the Illinois River through public education and community outreach, water quality monitoring and conservation and restoration in the watershed, according to the nonprofit organization's website.
"To be frank, the watershed is kind of a disaster in terms of people losing trees and people losing land," Hardiman said.
A recent stream bank analysis by the partnership showed of the 47 miles analyzed about 57,000 tons of sediment per year washes away, Hardiman said. That's only a small percentage of the stream banks in Northwest Arkansas, she said.
Since heavy rain and flooding hit Northwest Arkansas in late April, hundreds of residents in Benton and Washington counties have contacted emergency county and state officials. Rick Johnson, deputy director of the Washington County emergency management department, said about 400 people reported property damage in Washington County alone.
"We've had a lot of reports on stream bank erosion," Johnson said. "We've had a lot more damages reported to us than we've had in several years."
Several other residents called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for help, said Bradley Myers, regulatory enforcement branch chief.
Because of construction, including, roads, sidewalks and subdivisions, water is being diverted to streams at a higher velocity than it used to and is hitting streams in a higher concentration, Pennington said. Streams and creeks swell with fast-moving water that drags gravel and rock into creeks, collapses the sides of banks, changes stream direction and, in some cases, moves the entire creek, Johnson said.
The creek by Davis' house has several feet of gravel in it that has washed downstream.
The stream was a creek when she moved to the home 32 years ago, but she now describes it as a "river."
"I'm desperate," Davis said. "Soon, there will be no soil left."
Hard to find help
There isn't much help for people like Davis, environmental advocates say.
Pennington said landowners have three choices: try to stabilize the bank, do nothing and hope it gets better, or sell the property.
"Those are kind of depressing options, but that's the reality of the situation," Pennington said. "For landowners, it's very expensive to treat. And there are virtually no resources to help them."
Many conservation groups work on stream bank restoration, but which projects are chosen depends, in part, on priority-designated streams and the available money, said Angela Danovi, regional projects manager for Ozark Water Watch and president of the Multi-Basin Regional Water Council.
Ozarks Water Watch works "to preserve the water quality of upper White River watershed," according to the nonprofit group's website. The Multi-Basin Regional Water Council, which is made of different groups involved in water quality in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating people on environmental issues, including water quality, water conservation and watershed management, according to the group's website.
Hardiman said there is no one group that helps poor property owners stop massive erosion.
"We have no mechanism to sustainably fund or holistically address stream bank restoration," Hardiman said. "Property owners tell me all the time that they are losing their land. It becomes a safety issue because it's just a cliff, and there aren't a lot of resources for private landowners to address this right now."
Davis loves her home but worries no one will buy it after she dies, she said. The property will lose value as the creek continues to remove land, she said. Her family might be left with property that won't sell, she said.
"I'm 88 years old now, and I could go at any time," Davis said. "(Then) my daughter can't sell the house."
Costs to stabilize or restore stream banks are high, officials said.
Davis said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission told her in 2011 stabilizing her bank would cost roughly $13,000. Davis, who is on social security disability, doesn't have the money, she said.
Restoring -- not just stabilizing -- a bank is even more expensive, Danovi said. Taking a stream bank back to where it should be can run $250,000, she said. Rocks alone can cost $30,000, she said.
The final cost from wide-scale flooding last month is still being tallied, but Washington County had millions in damages, officials said previously. State and county officials could not provide information on the extent of stream erosion in those costs, but they agree it contributed.
Even if FEMA approves the county for federal aid for individual property owners, Davis likely doesn't qualify. Individual assistance doesn't pay for land or outbuilding damages, said Barbara Hager, public information officer for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
NW News on 05/28/2017
*An earlier version of the story included the incorrect watershed for the stream.