PINE BLUFF -- Pine Bluff resident Jack Walker stood outside his home on a recent afternoon and watched as workers performed maintenance on the city's sewer system.
The work is part of a long-term rehabilitation program designed to prevent major failures, said Ken Johnson, manager of the Pine Bluff Wastewater Utility.
Earlier this year, the Pine Bluff City Council approved a series of rate increases in wastewater fees to pay for the improvements. Rates rose by 10 percent initially and will rise again by 7 percent in 2016 and then again in 2017 by 6 percent.
Based on an average residential monthly bill of $16.21, ratepayers saw an increase of $1.62 per month in 2015 and will eventually see a $3.73 monthly increase by 2017, a 23 percent increase overall, Johnson said.
The city had not had a wastewater rate increase since 2005.
For residents like Walker, the work means peace of mind. At first, Walker said, he wasn't happy about the rate increase, but the alternative wasn't attractive either.
"No one wants to think about having raw sewage in their homes or in the streets," Walker said. "You have to pay for improvements if you are going to have a progressive city. It's just part of being a good citizen."
Said Johnson, "It was time to do something to make sure we don't run into trouble down the road.
"Some of our systems are well over 120 years old," Johnson noted.
A portion of the money raised from the rate increase will fund construction of a new wastewater pump station on the city's south side, as well as improvements to existing pipes, Johnson said. In all, about $500,000 will be spent annually as part of the rehabilitation and maintenance project.
Suncoast Infrastructure Inc. of Florence, Miss., began work on sewer lines earlier this month and will continue work on about 9,000 feet of lines, Johnson said. The company submitted a low bid of $335,000 to perform the work.
Johnson said liners being placed in the sewage system should increase the life span of pipes by as much as six decades. It's also safer, he said, because workers don't have to go underground to perform work.
The projects are at 822 S. Ohio St.; 900 S. Indiana St.; 4200 S. Cherry St.; 4525 W. Barraque St.; 2710 S. Elm St.; 810 W. 26th Ave.; 3006 S. Elm St.; 16 Millaway Drive; 3412 Oakwood Road; 401 N. Blake St.; 2122 S. Blake St.; 1617 S. Hickory St.; 222 Linden Circle; 1400 W. 42nd Ave.; 401 W. 22nd Ave.; and 4920 S. Olive St.
Randy Newsome lives on Blake Street and said he has had problems with sewage backups in his home several times over the past few years.
Like Walker, Newsome said he is looking forward to work being done to improve the system and is willing to pay more in monthly fees to fund the project.
"The issues haven't been bad, just minor. But things will get worse if work isn't done on the pipes," Newsome said. "It's good that the city is taking a proactive approach about this. Most people don't think about the sewer system unless something goes wrong."
State Desk on 11/27/2015