What is the Ouachita River worth? Almost $5.7B

Did you know the Ouachita River helps keep gas prices lower at the pump?  Transporting gas up the river via barge cuts up to 6 cents per gallon at the pump.

Robert Eisenstadt and Paul Nelson, two professors with the University of Louisiana at Monroe Center for Economic Research, combed through data to determine the economic impact that the Ouachita-Black River system has from South Central Arkansas to North Central Louisiana. Their final result? 

The Ouachita River produces about $5.7 billion each year in economic activity. Approximately $5.5 billion comes from industrial enterprises, such as paper, chemical and electricity. The river generates $1.2 billion of household income in Louisiana and Arkansas, and $1.14 billion of that is from industrial enterprises.

About 21,000 full-time jobs are created by the commercial use of the Ouachita, and 20,000 of those are connected to industry.

“The study confirmed what we at ORVA always believed," said Randy Denmon, president of the Ouachita River Valley Association. “That the value of the water in the Ouachita River, at least as it pertains to our economic livelihood in north Louisiana and south Arkansas, is extremely significant. But the numbers came out even higher than I expected. The value of the water alone was over $5 billion, most of it for industrial uses, which constitutes almost 10 percent of the average household income in the area. This is something we certainly need to make all efforts to preserve.” 

The study was funded by the North Louisiana Economic Partnership. Scott Martinez, president of NLEP, said the study will be available to anyone working to keep the river navigable and be submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Barge traffic on the Ouachita and Black rivers is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Mississippi via a system of four locks and dams. The system maintains the navigation channel at a depth that allows for barge traffic year-round. 

The locks and dams operate along 337 miles of waterway, keeping the navigation channel at a minimum depth of 9 feet and a width of 100 feet from the Red River north to Camden, Arkansas.

Captain John Hoopaugh of Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co., based in Alexandria, said the lack of river dredging affects his business. When barges have to carry light loads because the waterways aren't cleared, that reduces the tonnage on the river. When the tonnage is reduced, he said, services such as lock hours being open are affected.

With tonnage dropping below one million tons annually, the Ouachita waterway is considered “low use” which impacts federal funding to keep the river navigable. Competition for limited federal funds could jeopardize the operations of the locks and dams along the Ouachita-Black Rivers, placing the waterway in “caretaker” status.

ULM President Nick Bruno said if the rivers aren't maintained due to loss of federal funds, the rivers could become no more than a big ditch during the summer. The loss, he said, would be a tragic loss to the region.

Nelson said that's basically a nightmare scenario.

“Navigation, while important, represents a just one aspect of the value of the Ouachita-Black River,” Eisenstadt said. “The Ouachita-Black River’s considerable economic contributions to our area come from the industrial use of a reliably-maintained deep-channel river system. Reliability of water for industrial input, as well as a reliable flow rate for dispersal of discharge help to ensure cost advantages that help keep existing paper, chemical, and electrical utility companies competitive and operating in our region.”

Use of the river, Nelson said, affects everything from drinking water prices to recreation to wastewater dispersal. If drinking water systems have to stop pulling from the rivers, he said, they'd have to start pulling from the already stressed Sparta Aquifer, which is beginning to rebound after initiatives to pull surface water and treat wastewater.

Continued federal funding for the locks and dams is vital to keeping the Ouachita River navigable. This economic impact study will be an important tool in efforts to maintain the level of funding for the Ouachita and Black River waterway system.

A news release form the North Louisiana Economic Partnership contributed to this report.

Follow Bonnie Bolden on Twitter @Bonnie_Bolden_ and on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1RtsEEP.

More:LDCC gets $1.3M to help vets

Other news:ULM to offer online family nurse practitioner program beginning summer 2018