New activities are in store for the 7th Annual Secchi Day on Beaver Lake, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 18 at Prairie Creek, five miles east of Rogers on Hwy. 12. Expect to spend time at the mobile aquarium learning about fish and be prepared to have your knowledge of water science challenged as you take part in the onshore scavenger hunt!
“We’re really excited about this year’s event,” said Amy Wilson, Director of Public Affairs for Beaver Water District. “Two new additions include the mobile aquarium, thanks to one of our new partners — the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission — and a fun scavenger hunt with prizes. Participants will visit educational vendors and find clues to water questions that are posed by Randy the Frog and Castor the Beaver. The scavenger hunt is based on an activity we host at the District’s Water Education Center and also on our website and in our K-12 school curriculum. We’ll have Randy and Castor stickers for children, collapsible water bottles, Beaver Lake tattoos, totes, lunch for the first several hundred people, pontoon boat rides, bird walks, rain garden and stream ecology. It’s going to be great!”
Secchi Day on Beaver Lake, organized by the District and 10 partner organizations, is named for the Secchi disk, a black and white device lowered into the water to measure clarity. In the early part of the morning, citizen science volunteers, using their own boats, will collect water samples and take Secchi disk readings. They will bring their samples and clarity readings in to shore where they will be recorded with great fanfare, something along the lines of a weigh-in at a fishing tournament. Dan Skoff, KNWA’s Chief Meteorologist, will serve as emcee.
Audubon Arkansas, Beaver Water District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Beaver Lake, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Hobbs State Park, Arkansas Master Naturalists, the Association for Beaver Lake Environment, Beaver Watershed Alliance, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and Ozarks Water Watch are co-sponsors of Secchi Day on Beaver Lake.
For more information, call Amy at (479) 717-3807, visit bwdh2o.org, or visit the event on Facebook.
Beaver Water District supplies drinking water to more than 300,000 people and industries in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and surrounding areas. The District’s mission is to serve our customers’ needs by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards.
