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Impervious Surfaces
Fourche Creek's watershed is being suffocated by impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces can be defined as 'any surface that does not allow passage or admittance of water through itself'. Examples of the most damaging impervious surfaces are concrete, asphalt and rooftops. These types of impervious surfaces are distributed throughout more than 70% of the Fourche watershed.

Impervious surfaces increase the volume and velocity of stormwater runoff entering the hydrological system (in this case, Fourche Creek). This, in turn causes downstream flooding and massive amounts of land wasting or erosion. Impervious surfaces keep water from filtering into the soil, which ultimately reduces groundwater recharge of underground aquifers. Impervious surfaces increase the amounts of non-point pollution entering Fourche Creek because of their inability to filter surface water. The extent of impervious surface area is possibly the largest threat to Fourche Creek.

Non-point Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency defines non-point pollution as 'pollution that is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground'. As runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human made pollutants, finally depositing them into Fourche Creek. This puts many different pollutants into the creek, such as oil and gas, from area streets and parking lots. The runoff also results in the addition of large amounts of dirt and sediment entering the creek.

Floatable Trash
Just about every piece of trash that gets thrown out of a car window or dropped on the ground in Little Rock will make its way into Fourche Creek. Trash is one of the largest problems for Fourche Creek because of its persistent nature. Clean up projects are on- going, and to date, 6 tons of floatable trash have been removed from Fourche Creek. So the next time you're about to toss that cup out of your window, remember that it doesn't disappear, it goes somewhere, and here that somewhere is Fourche Creek.

Nutrient Pollution
Another serious threat for Fourche Creek is nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution primarily comes agricultural and domestic use of fertilizers. The nitrates and phosphates in fertilizers over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae. Fourche Creek is clogged when the algae die and bacteria begin to break it down. The bacteria deplete Fourche of dissolved oxygen, which impairs the respiration of the fish in Fourche Creek.

Sediment Pollution
Sediment pollution entering Fourche Creek is 'composed of solid matter of inorganic or organic material that originates from the weathering of rocks'. It derives from numerous human activities including: roads, construction sites, streambanks, and mines. Sediment is distributed into Fourche Creek either by wind or water. Once in the body of water, it is measurable in forms of turbidity, total suspended solids, and total dissolved solids.

Air Pollution
Most people don't know that pollutants in the air can cause pollution in the water. Particles that are suspended in the air are deposited into Fourche Creek when it rains. These pollutants can include mercury, lead, sodium, nitrates, sulfates, magnesium, ammonia, and chlorides.