Advocates Seek to Transform Historic Dam Site Into Whitewater Preserve

A coalition of environmental groups, led by the Watershed Conservation Resource Center, has proposed transforming a neglected park on the West Fork of the White River in South Fayetteville into an ecological preserve and whitewater park. Sixty years ago, a public water supply pump station operated on the site, drawing water from a dammed reservoir. Portions of the dam and spillway remain intact. Fayetteville's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recently indicated support for removing the dam and constructing public access. We meet with Watershed conservation Resource Center executive director, Sandy Formica, who has monitored the waterway for 20 years. She says removing the dam will vastly improve water quality and aquatic life along the river and create an easy public inlet for whitewater craft.