Past and present land use in western Washington County, Arkansas, and the effect on area water quality (Washington County, Arkansas)

The growth of the poultry industry has proved to be of great economic value in Northwest Arkansas. However, the problems that result from this industry could also prove detrimental to the ecosystem health of the area. This study focuses on the ecological health of the western quadrant of Washington County, Arkansas through the use of water quality and land cover data.; Despite the comparison of water quality data and spatial data from 1978 to 2001, this study failed to derive a nexus between land use, land cover and water quality for that time frame. The inferences drawn at the conclusion of this study result from the use of a GIS (geographic information system), remote sensing, archival water quality data, the paired t test statistical method and synoptic glimpses.; Based on the limited amount of available data and the fact that none of the waters in this study are considered to “threatened,” the results are not found to demonstrate degrees of change, positive or negative, in the use of the land and the correlation of these data with archival water quality data.