Living On Karst

HERE'S WHAT WE CAN DO.

MINIMIZE LAND DISTURBANCE:

The extraction of rocks, soil, vegetation and water will clearly interrupt the processes that produce and maintain karst. Such uses should be carefully planned and executed to minimize environmental impact.

PROTECT SINKHOLES:

Ensure that sinkholes are marked and secured with fence, rope or taped very clearly.

Check carefully for signs of the sinkhole enlarging, especially toward buildings, septic tanks, drain fields, and wells (flowing water into a sinkhole will continue or accelerate its growth). This can be done by pushing a thinhard metal rod into the soil. Areas near the sink will offer less resistance to the rod than the unaffected soil.

Do not throw any waste into a sinkhole or use it as a drainage system. Pesticides and other wastes seep easily through the sinkhole into the aquifer - your drinking water.

Stabilize a sinkhole if it is a hazard to health and safety.

Contact a specialist.
Create a vegetated zone. A 100 foot wide grass filter strip is ideal. A wide natural buffer of trees and understory vegetation around sinkholes is more effective in removing sediment from deeper sinkholesand holes located in gullies or ravines.

PROTECT WELL WATER:

Situate wells away from barns, feed lots, livestock pens, sinkholes, dumps, septic systems and fuel tanks to keep polluted surface water out.

Line well with welded steel pipe, grouted in place.

Keep fertilizer, pesticides, petroleum products and other chemicals away from zone around wells.

Keep standing water from accumulating around wells.

Check your water at the County Health Unit.

"Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers, Inc." is an Arkansas non-profit organization 501(c)(3) devoted to creating an on-going dialogue where individuals, groups, and government agencies can work together to restore, enhance and conserve these beautiful rivers.