Beaver Water District

What Beaver Water District does

Beaver Water District (BWD) is the oldest regional water district in Arkansas, established in 1959 under Arkansas Act 114 of 1957 to treat and wholesale potable water sourced from Beaver Lake to Northwest Arkansas municipalities. The district operates an intake system with 150 MGD pumping capacity and 140 MGD treatment capacity across the JM Steele and Hardy Croxton plants, plus a 4.99 MW Solar Park I commissioned December 2025 that offsets 15–20% of electricity use. BWD's core technology stack centers on SCADA-based real-time monitoring of water storage, pressure, and cleanliness, with remote control of pumps and valves, supported by intake, raw-water transmission (a 72-inch pipeline lifting raw-water conveyance to 220 MGD), and treated-water distribution assets.

BWD sells clean, treated drinking water exclusively at wholesale — currently $1.82 per 1,000 gallons (effective October 1, 2025) — to four customer cities: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. These cities in turn distribute water to more than 400,000 residents and surrounding industries, with average daily production of 80 MGD and peak summer demand above 100 MGD. The district is governed by a six-member elected board and operated by a leadership team led by CEO M. Lane Crider and COO Kevan Inboden, with a CFO hire in 2025 to oversee a multi-year capital program.

BWD's revenue is operational rather than equity-funded; the district is executing a $500M+ capital program by end of decade, including an $302M 80 MGD Starr Water Treatment Plant, a $125.7M Western Corridor Pipeline (SRF-funded), a $40M 16 MG Clearwell, and additional pump station and solar capacity, with a long-range plan to lift treatment to 220 MGD by 2040. Beyond wholesale water, BWD runs source-water protection (Beaver Watershed Alliance, H2Ozarks, NWA Land Trust partnerships), K–12 water-science education aligned to NGSS, the Beaver Believers conservation program, and a water-quality reporting program covering lead, copper, PFAS, cyanobacteria, disinfection byproducts, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics.

Name

Beaver Water District

Legal name

Beaver Water District

Website

https://bwdh2o.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Beaver Water District is a regional wholesale water utility that treats and supplies drinking water from Beaver Lake to four Northwest Arkansas cities — Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville — serving more than 400,000 residents at an average of 80 million gallons per day, governed by an elected board under Arkansas Act 114 of 1957.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Pipe Lines (No Natural Gas) (4610)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Water Conveyance & Transmission (Aqueducts, Mains, Pumping Stations) (EUANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

Keywords

• Wholesale drinking water
• Water treatment services
• Municipal water supply
• Source water protection
• Water distribution infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Lowell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Water Sales: BWD sells clean, treated, ready-to-drink tap water at a wholesale rate to four customer cities — Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville — which distribute the water to more than 400,000 people and industries. The wholesale rate is $1.82 per 1,000 gallons as of October 1, 2025.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Beaver Water District operates as a regional wholesale water utility, treating raw water sourced from Beaver Lake and delivering clean, safe drinking water at a wholesale rate to four municipal customer cities—Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville—which together serve more than 400,000 residents and industries. The district supplies an average of 80 million gallons per day with treatment capacity of 140 MGD, and is expanding toward 220 MGD through projects including the Western Corridor Pipeline, Western Corridor Pump Station, Starr Water Treatment Plant, and Solar Park I.

Product overview

Beaver Water District operates as a regional water utility providing a unified drinking water service from source to tap. The core offering is drinking water treatment and wholesale distribution sourced from Beaver Lake to four Northwest Arkansas cities (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville) serving over 400,000 residents. Supporting the utility service, the District offers educational products including K-12 water science lesson programs, facility tours, in-class presentations, and interactive online games. The portfolio also includes community engagement through the Beaver Believers water conservation program, regulatory compliance reporting via annual water quality reports and fact sheets, and source water protection initiatives through watershed partnerships and restoration projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beaver Believers: Water conservation program encouraging residents to conserve water and protect Beaver Lake through simple practices like fixing leaks and adjusting sprinklers.

Products and services

• Drinking Water Treatment & Wholesale Distribution Treats raw water sourced from Beaver Lake and sells clean, ready-to-drink tap water at wholesale rates ($1.82 per 1,000 gallons as of October 1, 2025) to four municipal customer cities—Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville—which distribute it to over 400,000 residents and industries across Northwest Arkansas.
• K-12 Water Science Education Programs Classroom and field trip education programs aligned with Next Generation Science Standards covering watershed dynamics, water quality, drinking water treatment processes, and water resources for K-12 students and educators in Northwest Arkansas.
• Tours & Outreach Services Onsite tours of drinking water treatment facilities, in-classroom presentations, and a portable hydration trailer for community events providing water education and outreach for schools and community groups.
• Beaver Believers Water Conservation Program
• Water Quality Reports & Fact Sheets
• Source Water Protection Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Supplies clean drinking water to over 400,000 NWA residents
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Beaver Watershed AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011The Beaver Watershed Alliance was formed in 2011 to establish programming to maintain high quality drinking water in Beaver Lake and improve water quality on the Beaver Lake Watershed. It represents a diverse stakeholder group from conservation, education, water utilities, technical and science, business, agriculture, recreation, and local government groups.
• H2OzarkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerH2Ozarks is a nonprofit organization protecting water quality in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Since 2001, it has worked to foster community action through education, outreach, research, and public policy. It runs the Septic System Grant Programs for homeowners in the Beaver Lake watershed and co-hosts the annual Beaver Lake Volunteer Day.
• Northwest Arkansas Land TrustsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthwest Arkansas Land Trust is a nonprofit, non-governmental conservation organization founded in 2003 in response to rapid regional development. It provides local, voluntary, and permanent land protection services to landowners and municipalities to conserve special places in the region.
• NextEra EnergysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNextEra Energy is the developer of BWD's 4.99-MW Solar Park I project. BWD and NextEra executed a Build Transfer Agreement (BTA) in June 2023 for development phase including site investigation, permitting, and preliminary design. NextEra developed the EPC proposal for construction of the solar facility.
• Thalle ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThalle Construction is the contractor for the Western Corridor Pipeline project, a 60-inch diameter pipeline to convey treated water to the Western Corridor Pump Station. Contract price is approximately $66.8 million, funded through State Revolving Funds (SRF).
• Crossland Heavy ContractorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCrossland Heavy Contractors serves as the construction manager for the Western Corridor Pump Station (GMP of $38.37M, funded from BWD's operations) and was awarded the contract for the 80 MGD Starr Water Treatment Plant ($302M). Also handling the 16-MG Clearwell expansion.
• Black & VeatchcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBlack & Veatch is the engineering firm that designed the Western Corridor Pump Station and is providing construction-phase engineering and observation services. It is also finalizing plans and specifications for the 80 MGD Starr Water Treatment Plant.
• OlssoncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerOlsson designed the Western Corridor Pipeline and is providing construction-phase engineering and observation services for that project.
• Carroll Electric Cooperative CorporationsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCarroll Electric Cooperative Corporation (CECC) is constructing a new substation to provide primary power to the Western Corridor Pump Station site and is working on interconnection costs for the Solar Park project.
• U.S. Army Corps of EngineerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers co-sponsors the annual Beaver Lake Volunteer Day combined with the Beaver Lake cleanup, working with BWD to engage volunteers in shoreline cleanup and water quality awareness.
• Watershed Conservation Resource Center (WCRC)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWCRC partnered with BWD in June 2023 to purchase a Floodplain Conservation Property at 1501 S. Deadhorse Mountain Rd., protecting 223 acres of property to help protect water quality in Beaver Lake.
• H2Ozarks Septic System Grant ProgramssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerH2Ozarks administers Septic System Grant Programs for homeowners in the Beaver Lake watersheds, helping replace or repair failing septic systems that contribute to non-point source pollution in Beaver Lake.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves22 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Central Arkansas Water: A regional water utility serving the Little Rock metropolitan area in Arkansas. Direct comparable as another large Arkansas water provider operating raw-water intake, treatment, and wholesale distribution to multiple municipal customers.
• Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD): A regional public water and natural gas utility serving the Omaha, Nebraska metro area. Comparable as a multi-jurisdictional wholesale/retail water utility with similar regulated cost-of-service model and capital-intensive infrastructure.
• Denver Water: The largest water utility in Colorado, serving the Denver metro area with raw water conveyance, treatment, and wholesale supply to suburban distributors. Comparable in scale, treatment capacity, and multi-barrier source-water protection approach.
• San Diego County Water Authority: A wholesale water wholesaler supplying treated and untreated water to 24 member agencies in San Diego County. Directly comparable as a wholesale-only model selling to municipal customers via long-term contracts with significant conveyance infrastructure.
• Tampa Bay Water: A regional water supply authority serving the Tampa Bay area through wholesale delivery to member governments. Comparable wholesale-only utility model with surface-water treatment plants and long-term municipal member contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC): A multi-utility (water, electric, chilled water) municipal provider in Central Florida. Comparable as a Florida-based regional water utility, although broader as a multi-service municipal utility rather than water-only.
• American Water Works Company: The largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility, serving over 14 million people across multiple states. Comparable as a regulated investor-owned water utility, though broader geographically and via owned/operated treatment and distribution assets at much larger scale.

Regional players

• Tennessee American Water: Subsidiary of American Water serving Tennessee. Regional water utility serving multiple municipal systems in a different geography than BWD; relevant for operational benchmarking but does not directly compete in NWA.

Others

• McGoodwin Williams Yates / Olsson (Engineering): Engineering firm designing water/wastewater treatment and pumping infrastructure. Listed because Olsson designed the Western Corridor Pipeline and BWD's CEO previously worked there; relevant as an infrastructure/engineering counterpart rather than a competitive peer.
• Black & Veatch: Global engineering, procurement, and construction firm focused on water and critical infrastructure. Listed because Black & Veatch is designing BWD's Western Corridor Pump Station and the Starr Water Treatment Plant; relevant as a core implementation partner rather than a competitive peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BeaverWaterDistrict/videos
• Xx.com/bwdh2o
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/beaver-water-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Beaver Water District