The City of Bentonville is now moving forward with plans to remove the failed Lake Bella Vista dam and restore Little Sugar Creek to its natural state.

But the path to that decision was anything but straightforward — or quick.

The dam, located just east of Hwy. 71 at the north end of Bentonville, was damaged repeatedly in floods starting in 2008, followed by the washout of a 50-foot section of the dam during an April 2021 flood. Those events fueled more than a decade of debate over whether to repair the aging structure or restore the creek entirely. The discussion involved officials from the city of Bentonville and FEMA as well as engineers, developers, environmental advocates, residents and even the court system.

In the end, sustained advocacy from Bentonville resident Greg Van Horn, along with support from more than 4,800 residents who joined his Facebook group, Friends of Little Sugar Creek, helped shift the outcome from an anticipated dam rebuild to full removal.

“The dam will be removed and Little Sugar Creek will once again flow freely, so that’s extremely positive,” said Van Horn, a floodplain analyst and Friends of Little Sugar Creek organizer. “But I never imagined it would take more than a decade to get to this decision.”

He believes the environmental consequences had long been clear.

“I felt like the decision could have been a no-brainer,” Van Horn said. “But there was already a dam-rebuilding bureaucracy in motion, and we had to educate the decision makers. There were so many frustrations along the way, but the support from residents kept me going. I knew this creek was worth fighting for, and it finally paid off.”

Streamline Environmental is expected to begin the two-year dam removal and creek restoration project within the next couple of months. Plans call for restoring Little Sugar Creek’s natural channel and transforming the area into Sugar Creek Park, a natural public green space with pedestrian access and limited water access.

The work will allow fish to swim freely through this part of Little Sugar Creek for the first time in more than 100 years, said David Wright, director of Bentonville Parks & Recreation.

“It shows persistence can pay off when you’re fighting for the right thing,” Wright said. “At one point, the decision to rebuild the dam was unanimous. But Greg and the Friends of Little Sugar Creek never lost focus. 

“They helped us understand that full removal and restoration was the right decision — environmentally and financially,” he said. “Without them, we would have built the wrong thing.”

Van Horn argues the environmental challenges date back to 1915, when construction started on the dam to create Lake Bella Vista for recreation and development.

“The dam was built without regard for the flooding patterns here,” he said. “Little Sugar Creek begins near Garfield, and water from McKissic Creek near Centerton also converges here. You have water flowing in from miles around — and then you put a dam in front of it?”

Blocking that flow proved to compromise the surrounding ecosystem, Van Horn said. 

“Sediment collects and decomposes, creating conditions for algae growth,” he said. “Oxygen levels drop, and the environment deteriorates. Not to mention the flooding potential.”

In 2000, Cooper Communities — the primary developer of Bella Vista from 1965 to 2004 — granted the lake to Bentonville nonprofit the Trailblazers to establish a walking trail. By 2006, the city of Bentonville took over ownership of Lake Bella Vista and its facilities, transitioning the property to public control.

After extensive flood damage in 2008, FEMA offered to fund most of the costs for a replacement dam, according to Wright, with the rest being covered by locally available grants.

“At the time, that seemed to be the no-brainer,” Wright said. “From the city’s perspective, there was a path to replace the dam that had already been there for a century, without having to use a single taxpayer dollar.”

FEMA earmarked funds in 2009 for the rebuilding project. Shortly afterward, Van Horn contacted the city to argue that removal would be the more environmentally and financially sustainable option.

Even after additional flood damage in 2015, the city was prepared to move forward with rebuilding. But Van Horn and the growing Friends of Little Sugar Creek continued presenting environmental data and advocating for removal. Eventually, the city recognized FEMA funds could be reallocated to support dam removal and creek restoration.

Then another hurdle emerged in the form of a land deed agreement that governed the lake’s existence, resulting in the city seeking court approval. Initially, the city gained the right to remove the dam.  

“But that was appealed and sent back to the local courts,” Wright said. “It was definitely an uphill battle, but once those obstacles were finally cleared, we could see [removal] was the right decision.”

One final debate in recent months centered on whether to leave part of the old dam intact as a historical reminder. Full removal ultimately prevailed, ensuring Little Sugar Creek will once again flow freely as Van Horn had advocated from the beginning.

“The dam never should have been there in the first place — and Bentonville is the home of Dr. Neil Compton, who fought in the 1970s to keep the Buffalo National River flowing freely,” Van Horn said. ”We had an opportunity to restore Little Sugar Creek to its natural form, and that’s finally going to happen. Finally.”

The $4.1 million project will use $2.8 million originally contributed by FEMA, with the remainder funded through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation.

“Thanks, in large part, to Greg and the Friends of Little Sugar Creek, the right thing is being done,” Wright said. “And one of the best parts about this project is it will still happen without the city having to use a single taxpayer dollar.”