by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)
A new phase of a $762 million water management system known as the Bayou Meto Water Project pumped its first demonstration delivery at a ceremony attended by U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and agriculture leaders across the state.
The Marion Berry Pump Station will provide critical surface water to farmers, supplementing declining groundwater levels. Roughly 80% of the state’s irrigation water comes from groundwater, with Arkansas having the third highest number of irrigated acres in the country.
Named after the late U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, the station was completed in 2015. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will build three miles of canals in 2025 that will reach Indian Bayou and will allow the pump station to move water to nearly 300,000 irrigated acres.
