Arkansas' need for updating its wastewater infrastructure is $714.5 million, according to the latest Environmental Protection Agency estimates. But an official with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission said that figure is likely an underestimate.
The nationwide need for updating wastewater infrastructure is $271 billion, according to figures released last month by the EPA.
Dave Fenter, fiscal manager with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, said the estimate for Arkansas is probably low because many utilities with needs never reported them to the EPA because they didn't have an official engineer's report.
That might be because they don't have the money to complete the projects, so they don't foot the bill for a report, Fenter said.
The Natural Resources Commission collected the surveys in Arkansas. A total of 205 wastewater authorities listed needs, with the smallest being $10,332 for the city of Johnson in Washington County. Most authorities -- 110 -- listed needs of more than $1 million, and 12 listed needs exceeding $10 million.
Bob Blanz, chief technology officer with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, said he doesn't expect the needs to decline any time soon. Facilities and equipment age quickly, and replacements are often necessary when pipes corrode and let rainwater leak into the system, causing sewer overflows. Many utilities end up before the Department of Environmental Quality when that happens and enter into consent administrative orders to fix the issues.
Wastewater treatment plants last about 20 to 30 years, officials estimate. Pipes made from modern materials might last 50 years. All cost millions to replace.
According to the EPA's data, Conway Corp. was the wastewater authority with the greatest financial needs reported in 2012 -- $106,448,937. Nearly all of that -- $97 million -- was for the Tupelo Bayou wastewater treatment plant, which opened in July 2014 after two years of construction. That greater-capacity plant replaced an aging plant, necessitated by the utility's permit with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and growth in Conway.
Conway Corp. financed that project through a $70 million Natural Resources Commission loan, which has a lower interest rate than traditional bond issues, Conway Corp. CEO Richard Arnold said.
To pay back the loan, sewer bills were raised over a three-year period, with customers paying 20 percent more in each of the first two years and 35 percent in the third year.
"The greatest benefit for us will be in our ability to serve our city as it grows," Arnold said.
Some projects have been completed since the 2012 surveys used in the data compilation, but the two costliest projects in the state have been announced since the surveys.
Little Rock Wastewater estimated $220 million in needs through 2023.
The utility recently received a $61 million loan from the Natural Resources Commission toward improvement for two of its three wastewater treatment plants.
The utility must improve its sewer system under a consent administrative order from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to prevent overflows during heavy rains.
The Sierra Club sued the utility over numerous overflows, which occur during heavy rainfall at nearly 300 sites across the city. The organization argued that the overflows were a risk to people and the environment. Since settling the case in 2001, the utility has decreased the number of rainfall overflow sites to fewer than 60.
Fort Smith has estimated a $375 million cost for a consent decree entered in 2015 for improvements to the city's sewer system. City directors have voted to increase sewer rates by 60 percent for the improvements, and the city has authorized bond issues for some of the cost and agreed to spend more than $1.2 million to hire 28 additional employees for the utility.
The city had been dumping untreated or under-treated sewage into the Arkansas River and had issues with sanitary sewer overflows.
Batesville reached an agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality in June for seven improvement projects designed to reduce overflows and keep the flow of the water going through the system at a level below the maximum of what it can handle.
The order agreed to in June came eight years after department inspectors initially reported issues at the town's wastewater treatment plant.
Batesville reported its needs at $41.8 million, third-highest in the state in 2012. The city took out a $50 million loan to cover the costs of expanding its treatment plan and replacing some pipes in the system. City residents are footing the bill for at least the next decade through a 1 percent sales tax passed in 2009.
Batesville has improved the capacity of wastewater flow at its treatment plant from 4 million gallons per day to 9 million gallons per day, city engineer Damon Johnson said. Previously, the city had been operating a 4-million-gallon-per-day facility with a flow of 5 million gallons per day.
"If you're an industry wanting to come here and grow here, we would not have been able to accommodate you, and now we can," Johnson said.
Additional improvements to the pipes, which have not been started, will decrease the number of sewer overflows.
"We have made some significant progress since 2012," Johnson said. "We still do have some pretty serious need."
Metro on 02/01/2016