BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The failing dam at Lake Bella Vista has been an ongoing issue, and last December the Bentonville City Council voted to allow the dam to be removed. Now the group that’s been pushing for its removal is threatening legal action due to pollution issues.
The Friends of Little Sugar Creek have been pushing to have the dam at Lake Bella Vista removed for years. While they are happy it will finally be removed, they have filed a notice of intent to sue the City of Bentonville for violations of the Clean Water Act relating to the destruction of the failed dam.
“You can see the violations right here behind me. The failed Lake Bella Vista dam has been allowing hundreds of yards of infill sediment, concrete, and asphalt to fall into Little Sugar Creek, and all those are pollutants,” said Ken Leonard with the group.
Leonard says that Little Sugar Creek is in the watershed of the Grand Lake in Oklahoma which is a major water supply for people living in that area.
He feels the City of Bentonville is delaying the removal of the dam, and hopes that the city receiving this letter of intent to sue will start the removal process sooner.
“The goal of Friends of Little Sugar Creek is to have the Bella Vista Lake Dam removed, restoring Little Sugar Creek to a free-flowing habit stream, which would then provide a healthy environment as opposed to the pretty unhealthy environment that exists with this failed lake and dam.”
In a statement, the City of Bentonville says they will not publicly comment on alleged litigation. They went on to say they are very proud of the resolution reached between the city and Copper Realty Investments.
“Since this resolution, our team has started the design process to remove the dam, restore Little Sugar Creek, and create a public park setting our residents will be proud of for generations to come. We will continue to move forward with that timeline and are committed to following all laws and regulations during the process,” said Bonnie Bridges with the City of Bentonville.
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