Bayou Meto Water Management District: Construction, Design, Land Rights Report
June 01, 2026
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Bayou Meto Water Management District (“Bayou Meto”) issued a Construction, Design, Land Rights Report (“Report””).
The Report was issued in conjunction with the Board of Directors meeting that will be held on June 8th.
The Bayou Meto irrigation project has been described as a regional water project designed to take excess surface water flow in the Arkansas River and transfer it to parts of the Grand Prairie Region from the Interstate 40 area down to the lower Bayou Meto Wildlife Management area and back to the Arkansas River. Water utilized through the project will be utilized for crop irrigation and wildlife habitat. Further, this will decrease the rate of depletion in the area.
The project was authorized and funded by the United States Congress and requires Federal, State and local funding to complete. Two major hubs have been constructed which include:
- Marion Berry Pump Station in Scott, Arkansas
- Little Bayou Meto Pump Station in Reydell, Arkansas
These stations were completed in 2015. Work is continuing on a network of canals and pipelines needed to distribute water to approximately 268,000 acres of farmland.
The previously referenced report states that the current focus is on construction and land acquisition to deliver water in Spring of 2028. The report outlines what is happening into 2027 addressing:
- Secondary distribution system
- Pipelines and offtakes
- Bayou and channel improvements
- United States Corp of Engineers canal 3.2
- Cole Deading Road Bridge
- Condemnation lawsuit
- Canal extension across Highway 15
- Road crossings
- Irrigation operations and control
- Regulatory and permitting
- Water sales and contracts
Edward Swain is the Executive Director of the Bayou Meto Water Management District.
Here is a copy of the report.
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