Mississippi Valley Division Commander Maj. Gen. Kimberly Peeples toured the Grand Prairie Pumping Station Project, May 2, 2025. The $18 million construction contract to complete the Grand Prairie Pumping Station was awarded to contractor partner C.J. Mahan Construction Company, LLC.
The Project Delivery Team led by Project Manager Billy Grantham and our non-federal project partner, the White River Irrigation District, are on track to safely deliver a quality project on time and within budget. The Grand Prairie Pumping Station Project is a part of the larger Grand Prairie Area Demonstration Project (GPADP) located in the Eastern Arkansas Grand Prairie Region.
GPADP is a comprehensive water management plan designed to deliver surface water to farmers and reduce the use of groundwater from the Alluvial and Sparta Aquifers.
The Grand Prairie Pumping Station will pull surface water from the White River near De Valls Bluff, Arkansas, and deliver it though a system of reservoirs, canals, and pipelines to irrigate about 40,000 acres of rice fields. This supplemental system is designed to fill on-farm reservoirs that store the water, which supplies a portion of each farmers' irrigation needs.
This pumping station is the last key infrastructure component that will help enable successful water delivery. Entergy is constructing the electrical substation that will provide the power to run the pump station. And our non-federal project partner, the White River Irrigation District, is busy excavating the canals that will deliver water to area farms.
As we continually emphasize, the Memphis District accomplishes nothing on its own. We rely heavily on our partnerships to accomplish our mission. "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.