Water is available in Clay, Greene, Craighead, and Poinsett Counties from ground-water and surface-water sources. However, ground water is more accessible in many places than surface water. Ground water is available from the alluvium, which covers all the area except Crowleys Ridge, and is also available from other formations below the alluvium.
Surface water is available from the Black and Cache Rivers west of Crowleys Ridge, and from the St/ Francis and Little Rivers, and from many ditches and laterals east of the ridge. Continuous water supplies are not available from streams on Crowleys Ridge, but additional surface-water supplies could be made available from reservoirs storage on the ridge. Average annual streamflow ranges from 1.2 cfs per sq mi (Cubic feet per second per square mile) in the western part of the four counties to 1.4 cfs per sq mi in the eastern part. Average annual precipitation is about 48 inches.
Use of water in the area for agriculture greatly exceeds all other used combined, and progressively greater amounts of water are being used for irrigation. In 1965, 111.4 mgd (million gallons per day) was used for irrigation of other crops. An additional 16.9 mgd was used by industry, municipalities, and others. Of these amounts, 180.1 mgd was ground water and 19.7 mgd was surface water, or a total of 199.8 mgd. More than 80 manufacturing firms, many of which are closely allied to agriculture, use moderate amounts of water, mostly from municipal supplies.
