Water-quality investigation of the Flat Bayou watershed, Jefferson County, Arkansas

The results of a 1-year study, in 1977-78, of surface-water quality in the Flat Bayou watershed, Jefferson County, Ark. are presented to document conditions before implementation of Soil Conservation Service programs. Analysis of samples collected at two sites showed that oxygen depletion, as low as 32 percent of saturation at times, and high concentrations of pesticides on the streambed were the most serious water-quality problems in the watershed. The pesticides aldrin, DDD, DDE, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor epoxide, lindane, and toxaphene were found in samples of the bottom material. One sample of bottom material contained an unusually high toxaphene concentration of 160 micrograms per kilogram.