U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Little Rock District
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Little Rock District is a federal government agency providing professional engineering, environmental, and construction expertise to much an irregularly shaped area of northern and western Arkansas, southern Missouri, as well as downstream portions of the Arkansas River watershed all the way to the Mississippi River. The Little Rock District was formed in 1881.
The U.S. Army Corps manages a half-million acres of land and water and twenty-five dams in the Little Rock District. The Corps also controls twelve reservoirs, including Beaver Lake (AR), Blue Mountain (AR), Bull Shoals Lake (AR-MO), Clearwater (MO), DeQueen Lake (AR), Dierks Lake (AR), Gillham Lake (AR), Greers Ferry Lake (AR), Millwood (AR), Nimrod (AR), Norfolk Lake (AR-MO), and Table Rock Lake (MO). Seven hydroelectric plants provide enough electricity to supply 300,000 homes.
The Little Rock District of the Corps is responsible for inspecting levees and recommending improvements in about fifty levee districts under its purview. It also operates thirteen navigable locks and dams in the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. The Corps manages 165 public parks in the district, attracting 30-35 million visitors each year. The Corps also maintains 308 miles of navigable river channels.
The district has also designed buildings at Little Rock Air Force Base and Pine Bluff Arsenal. It is also engaged in mitigation of hazardous waste and other environmental hazards at eighty-two Arkansas Formerly Used Defense Sites.
