The Role of Water Utilities
Forest watersheds provide cleanest source water of any land use.
Water utilities are in the business of protecting clean drinking water sources.
That is why Central Arkansas Water established a conservation fund in 2008. The fund takes $.60 per meter, per month from water bills - earmarked exclusively for conservation.
So far CAW has mainly used the fund to make forest land acquisitions. Now, they are beginning to use funds for conservation efforts on those lands and hopefully private lands in the future:
Reforestation
Stream bank stabilization
Low water crossing removals
Prescribed burns
Investing in forest stewardship on private lands is one way we can extend our limited conservation fund dollars to generate watershed benefits.
These efforts have a cost benefit for the utilities and consumers in the long run. The cleaner water filtered through forest watersheds reduces amount of chemicals necessary to treat drinking water, operations costs, energy costs, etc.
Forests also provide a buffer to the water supply in the event of a contamination spill.
Population growth, land values, and changing landowner demographics are threatening the future of forests, so the time to act is NOW.
CAW just helped facilitate their first conservation easement with a private landowner through fund with hopes to be a liaison between forest watershed landowners and government agencies to promote forest stewardship and conservation
Healthy forests are critical to the future of our drinking water.
Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water http://southeasternpartnership.org
Southern Group of State Foresters www.southernforests.org