Tontitown needs the state Department of Health to approve engineering designs on a planned water tower before it can receive water from a new supplier.
The water tower will provide Tontitown water pressure stabilization as well as a backup water supply in case of emergencies. Tontitown purchases water from Springdale Water Utility but is looking to switch to the Rogers-based Benton/Washington Regional Public Water Authority. However, the Water Authority requires Tontitown to have a water tower.
Water service
Tontitown receives its water from Springdale Water Utility but will build a water line and connect to the Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority. The city purchases its water wholesale from the utility for $3.28 for every 1,000 gallons. The city sets its own rate for billing customers. The average household uses 4,000 gallons and pays an average of $40 for water a month, a fee that includes a $20 base charge, according to James Clark, public works director.
Tontitown will purchase its water wholesale from the Water Authority after the water line is completed and pay $2.34 per 1,000 gallons, said Scott Borman, Water Authority general manager. That change will reduce the average resident’s bill by about $1, Clark said.
Tontitown maintains its own sewer system.
Source: Staff report
"If they don't have storage they're operating off of our storage tanks which in turn interferes with our operating capability," said Scott Borman, authority general manager. "We operate for a whole region as opposed to operating for one town. If I pull a tank down and they are floating on me, they're going to be out of water if they don't have their own storage."
The Health Department did a review of the city's preliminary engineering report on the water tower and sent the city a letter asking for further information about the tank's water mixing process to keep the water's age down and chlorine residual up to prevent water from becoming stagnant. Valves inside the tank will mix the water, said James Clark, city public works director.
Clark said the city's engineer is addressing comments from the initial draft and will send them back to the Health Department once all issues have been addressed.
Lances Jones, chief engineer for the Health Department and Drinking Water Program, said he sent Tontitown a letter on Jan. 25 and asked for clarification on the mixing process design.
"We want to make sure the water stays fresh in the tank and doesn't have excessive time sitting in the tank," Jones said.
Mayor Paul Colvin said Health Department approval is the last hurdle to build the water tower. The city will put out a bid for construction once state approval is given.
"We have already got the land acquisitioned. We got the site pretty much ready to go," Colvin said.
The city is estimating it will cost $1.2 million to build the tower, Jones said. The city will use a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan to pay for it, Clark said.
"Once they get funding secured they will submit detailed construction plans, and after we review and give ultimate approval, they can start construction," he said.
The tower will be built on an acre of land connected to city's utility shop at 1460 W. Henri De Tonti Blvd. The city bought the land on Oct. 7, 2016, for $50,000 from a trust set up in the name of Elizabeth Pianalto, according to Nick McMinn, deputy assessor with the Washington County Assessor's Office.
The tower will be about 180 feet tall and hold about 500,000 gallons of water, Colvin said.
Tontitown has bought its water from Springdale Water at a wholesale rate since the 1970s. Tontitown renewed its contract with the utility in December with the condition the city would build a water storage tank within four years.
Heath Ward, director of Springdale Water, has long encouraged Tontitown city leaders to build a water tower.
Tontitown must have a water supply for emergencies, such as major fires breaking in Springdale and Tontitown at the same time. Such an occurrence without a water tower in Tontitown would be a problem, Ward said.
"It would depress the water supply, and we would have to issue a boil order for the communities," Ward said. "The likelihood of that happening is slim, but as we grow in population it's more possible."
The U.S. Census Bureau's website shows Tontitown's population in 2010 was 2,460, and estimates the city's population as of July 1, 2016, at 3,497. The Census shows Springdale's population was 70,759 in 2010 and estimates it rose to 78,557 as of July 1, 2016.
Tontitown is not locked into its five-year contract with Springdale Water. Ward said he does not mind Tontitown wanting to switch over to the Water Authority.
"There's no bad blood," he said. "It's not about anything between our two communities. Their community decided they wanted to go a different route, and that is their prerogative."
The city passed a three-quarter cent sales tax for a $7.8 million bond issue on July 11 to pay for building an 18-inch water main that will connect to the Water Authority, Colvin said.
Tontitown wants to start building the line in April or May and complete it by summer 2019, Clark said.
The Water Authority sells its water wholesale to cities and towns and requires all of its customers to have a water storage tank. This is necessary if the plant has to temporarily shut down for maintenance, Borman said.
Tontitown will become the 17th municipality to connect to the Water Authority, Borman said.
The water tower's elevation will also provide pressure to the city's water flow. Springdale Water has been pumping pressure into the water it sells the city.
"If you don't have pressure in your lines, things can get in your water lines," Ward said. "You can't fight a fire without pressure. Pressure flow is what you have to have to fight fires and keep the water healthy."
Jerry Pope, owner of Look What I Found Resale Shop, 136 W. Henri De Tonti Blvd., said building a water tower is a good thing.
"If you have a better water supply (Tontitown's) going to grow that much more," Pope said. "Just like a tree, it won't grow without water."
NW News on 10/09/2017