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Behind the scenes at Eureka Springs
by David Casaletto
Ozarks Water Watch Executive Director
I had a meeting scheduled last Wednesday, February 22nd in Eureka Springs. I had promised Barbara Harmony a case of our "Living With Land and Water in the Ozarks" so I asked her if I could drop them off while I was there. She said sure, bring them down, but she asked if I could come a little early and so she could take me on a tour of the springs, streams and lakes around Eureka Springs. This was an opportunity I could not pass up! Barbara is a member and a driving force behind the Springs Committee and has lived in Eureka Springs since 1974. I knew I was in for a fun and educational journey.
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| | Barbara Harmony at Lake Leatherwood (dam in the distance) |
The weather forecast that morning told me to expect sunshine and 70+ degrees and we were not disappointed! What a beautiful winter day. I picked Barbara up and we headed out on our tour. First stop was Lake Leatherwood just north of town. Lake Leatherwood is a historic 1600 acre city park and is a pristine example of Ozark Mountain countryside. The lake is continuously recharged by cold spring water. The dam is one of America's largest dams built from hand-cut limestone and was constructed in the 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Both the dam and the park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
 | | Small spring in the woods |
Our next stop was the City Parks & Recreation office to drop off the books but our journey took us past many beautiful landscaped "garden" springs and many others that are just as they were years ago, hidden back in the woods and hills.
Next we headed north on Highway 23 to find where Leatherwood Creek enters Table Rock Lake. Along the way, the city's wastewater treatment plant sits between the highway and the creek. Barbara informed me that the locals call Leatherwood "Sh-t" Creek. We pulled over next to the creek and the impact of nutrients from the effluent discharged into the creek were very evident. At this point, Leatherwood might be called an "effluent dominated" stream.
 | Leatherwood Creek impacted by nutrients -
Easy to see how it got its nickname! |
After a pass over the Leatherwood Creek Bridge just a 1/4 mile from Table Rock Lake, we decided to take a drive over my favorite bridge in the Ozarks, the Beaver, AR suspension bridge. The water under the bridge is officially still Table Rock Lake and last summer I drove my boat from Cape Fair, MO to this bridge, a total trip of 110 water miles according to my GPS.  | | Beaver, AR one lane suspension bridge over Table Rock Lake |
Heading back to town we stopped at Magnetic Spring. In 1978 my wife and I traveled to Eureka Springs for our 1st wedding anniversary and visited Magnetic Spring. I remember buying a couple 5 gallon containers so we could take some of the "healing" waters home with us. I also remember that my wife was 7 months pregnant with our first child. In those day (yes, I am getting old!) you did not know if you were having a girl or boy, but we stopped in one of the shops and bought a stained glass angel and said if we had a girl, her name would be Angela, our angel. (We did have a girl!).  | | Magnetic Springs |
I also found out that Leatherwood Creek is also an "urban stream" channelized between rock walls and even flowing under buildings. Barbara then took me up the hills on very narrow streets where we passed spring after spring. I have visited Eureka Springs many times but have never traveled these steep narrow streets! What an adventure!  | | Leatherwood Creek in town |
Our last stop of the day took us a little way out of town and down a gravel road to Black Bass Lake. Driving up to the rock dam constructed in 1893, I was not sure this was a safe place to be until I learned a new dam was built in front of this one. The lake provided water for drinking and fire protection for the city over 100 years ago.  | | Black Bass Dam |
Of course, there is no way to tell or show you all that I learned on my trip, but mark your calendar for June 8 - 10, 2012 for "Celebrate the Springs!". This fun event, happening during Water Watch Week, includes live entertainment, children's activities, geocaching, and a springs walk with naturalist/photographer Chris Fischer and geologist, Jim Helwig. The event is sponsored by the Springs Committee with financial assistance from CAPC, the Preservation Society and a grant from Ozarks Water Watch. I have posted additional pictures of my tour on the Ozarks Water Watch Facebook page. | 
