WINNING—safely delivering a quality project on time and within budget—is now a done deal for the $15.7M Grand Prairie Electrical Substation Project. Project Manager Billy Grantham and his awesome Project Delivery Team (PDT) quarterbacked this project as well as Tom Brady ran an NFL offense.
On June 30, 2025, Memphis District Commander Col. Brian Sawser and Acting Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Anna Prestwood joined Project Manager Grantham and his PDT, and project partners Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the White River Irrigation District, and contractor Entergy Arkansas in celebrating the project’s completion with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Grand Prairie Electrical Substation provides power to the Grand Prairie Pumping Station. Both the electrical substation and the pumping station are critical components of the Grand Prairie Area Demonstration Project (GPADP) located in Arkansas' Grand Prairie--an area in the east-central portion of the state situated between the White and Arkansas Rivers.
The GPADP is a comprehensive water management plan designed to deliver surface water for irrigation and non-potable uses and reduce the use of groundwater from the Alluvial and Sparta Aquifers. The project helps save precious ground and drinking water, both in quantity and quality, which comes exclusively from the aquifers. By providing surface water runoff for agricultural and recreational use, the Grand Prairie project helps reduce the depletion of the aquifers, a precious natural resource, for future generations.
The project utilizes excess surface water and water from the White River to supplement a network of on-farm tailwater recovery systems. This supplemental system is designed to fill on-farm reservoirs that store the water, which supplies at least a portion of each farmer’s irrigation needs. When fully constructed, the project will deliver water to approximately 250,000 acres of agricultural areas. Project features include a pumping station, conveyance channels, and conservation measures for the Grand Prairie area.
Current groundwater withdrawals are lowering the water table to a point that groundwater is no longer a sustainable resource for human consumption, industrial use, and agricultural activities. Combined with conservation measures, this project will provide water security for the region that will allow the aquifers to be resilient and recharge.
The Corps of Engineers places significant emphasis on partnerships to devise engineering solutions for the nation’s most challenging issues. "Winning with our partners" is a core Memphis District philosophy centered on cultivating mutually beneficial partnerships characterized by shared success, collaborative relationships, and long-term value creation for America. With partners like contractor Entergy Arkansas, and non-federal partners like the State of Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the White River Irrigation District, this partnership was bound to be a success.