SPRINGDALE -- Elm Springs officials are seeking a permanent sewer agreement with Springdale to ensure their city can keep growing.
Elm Springs residents would have to pay for the service, but how much isn't yet known, said Heath Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities. Springdale would prefer to bill Elm Springs residents directly for sewer service as it does for water, he said.
Other Meeting Business
Springdale Water and Sewer Commission on Wednesday approved:
• A lease with Johnson for a park.
• A $4.1 million bid from Crossland Heavy Contractors for work on the Johnson, Robinson and Brush Creek sewage pump stations.
• Lowell’s request for a water main extension project in the Billie Acres subdivision.
• A $1.4 million bid from Leher Painting Enterprises for work on a tank.
• A $582,777 bid from Leher Painting Enterprises for work on two tanks.
Source: Staff Report
Springdale Water and Sewer officials discussed the proposal with Elm Springs Mayor Harold Douthit at a meeting Wednesday.
The Elm Springs City Council has approved putting $450,000 in an account and deposit $5,000 per month in the account for 60 months to bring the total to $750,000, Douthit said. The money would pay for improvements to a Springdale lift station and part of the construction of another lift station to increase capacity, Ward said.
Douthit and Springdale officials discussed a permanent connection at a meeting in January. Springdale's City Council approved an agreement in May between the two cities allowing Elm Springs to send some of its sewage to Springdale's system for 1½ years.
Elm Springs has a septic tank effluent pumping system, which includes a drip field, treatment process and septic tanks. The city's population has grown, and the system is approaching capacity. Douthit has said the population is between 1,700 and 2,000 people.
Douthit has said Elm Springs can handle growth with the city's drip field and the existing connection, but there will be a point where that won't work. He would like Elm Springs to ultimately phase out its drip field.
The mayor hopes to have the agreement finalized before the current deal between the cities expires later this year.
Springdale Water Utilities has enough capacity to handle a permanent connection with Elm Springs, said Rick Pulvirenti, chief operating officer and director of engineering for the utility. Elm Springs officials want to send 138 gallons of sewage per minute to Springdale.
Elm Springs has two other options, Douthit said. It could build and operate a second drip field and waste water treatment plant, but that would cost as much as the permanent connection, he said.
The city could also connect to a line Tontitown uses that goes to the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority, Douthit said. That would be the most expensive option.
Any agreement for a permanent connection would go before the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission, Elm Springs City Council and Springdale City Council, Ward said. Construction could take a couple of years.
The commission also approved the renewal of a water contract and a sewer contract between Springdale and Johnson. The two agreements have existed for 10 years, Ward said. The Springdale utility generally serves the area north of Clear Creek, Pulvirenti said.
Renewal of the agreements will have to go before Springdale City Council, Ward said.
NW News on 04/21/2016