Central Arkansas Water, the drinking water utility that serves the greater Little Rock area, is seeking to consolidate with the wastewater treatment system in Wrightsville, a city of roughly 1,500 people southeast of Little Rock.
Central Arkansas Water initially began assisting the Wrightsville system at the request of state environmental regulators who were pursuing corrective actions following permitting violations there.
Wrightsville has been awarded $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds in the form of loan principal forgiveness via the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.
The money was awarded "on the condition that Wrightsville must consolidate with [Central Arkansas Water] and construction of the necessary improvements must begin by March 2024," according to Central Arkansas Water board documents.
Central Arkansas Water officials are eyeing a series of anticipated steps as they attempt to finalize the consolidation plan over the next several months.
In an Oct. 9 memo that was sent to Central Arkansas Water's board of commissioners and others, Chief Executive Officer Tad Bohannon called the calendar "the biggest driver" of the utility's efforts.
"Why is the calendar the big driver? It is a $5,000,000 driver," Bohannon wrote.
In order to receive the principal forgiveness and reduce the cost of the improvements required to comply with a consent administrative order against Wrightsville, a project contractor must be issued a notice to proceed no later than March 31, 2024, Bohannon wrote.
The deadline is tied to the American Rescue Plan Act, he wrote.
Central Arkansas Water and its predecessor utility have long provided drinking water to the Wrightsville area.
Wrightsville's wastewater treatment system was constructed in 1992.
In addition to serving Wrightsville, the treatment plant also handles wastewater from neighboring communities to the north, which are served by their own collection system under the Sweet Home, Higgins and Red Oak Sewer Facilities Board.
About 67% of the treatment plant's daily flow comes from the Arkansas Department of Corrections' Wrightsville Unit and 25% comes from Sweet Home, Higgins and Red Oak, said Blake Weindorf, the chief operating officer of Central Arkansas Water, during an Oct. 12 meeting of Central Arkansas Water's board of commissioners.
Only about 8% of the daily volume comes from the city of Wrightsville, Weindorf said.
A lot of improvements are needed, according to Weindorf, who said there has been a lack of maintenance over the last 30 years.
Officials from Central Arkansas Water have been at the treatment plant performing work at Wrightsville's expense, he said, doing things like replacing pumps at pump stations and maintaining equipment at the treatment plant.
"We've had zero violations since we've been helping them," Weindorf said.
A consolidation agreement was approved by the Wrightsville City Council on Oct. 9. The agreement included language that said Central Arkansas Water's actions prior to the agreement, as well as actions before the closing and transfer of assets, will be at Wrightsville's expense.
Among other expenses, Wrightsville is expected to bear the cost of a roughly $2.2 million engineering agreement between Central Arkansas Water and Hawkins-Weir Engineers.
At the Oct. 12 meeting, Central Arkansas Water's board of commissioners approved the engineering agreement, which covers design services and other types of work intended to improve the Wrightsville system.
Hawkins-Weir Engineers previously performed a feasibility study to assess the required improvements to the Wrightsville wastewater system.
A list of upcoming tasks and milestones arranged by month that was shown to commissioners included the selection of a construction manager at risk (November), the adoption of the consolidation agreement and other measures by Central Arkansas Water's board (December), and the closing date for the Natural Resources Commission loan as well as the consolidation itself (March).
Jay Barth, the chair of the board of commissioners, asked Weindorf about the envisioned roles of the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority -- the local wastewater utility in Little Rock -- and Central Arkansas Water.
Weindorf said Central Arkansas Water initially approached officials at the Water Reclamation Authority and asked if they were interested in performing the work instead of Central Arkansas Water. However, the Water Reclamation Authority was limited because of a jurisdictional boundary at the city limits, Weindorf suggested.
After working with the Water Reclamation Authority and city stakeholders, officials concluded that it made the most sense for the Water Reclamation Authority to help maintain the Wrightsville system's sewer collection lines and manholes, Weindorf said.
"I remain queasy on this," Barth said a little while later at the meeting, attributing it to the lack of a formal agreement with the Water Reclamation Authority.
"I don't want us wandering towards commitments that are really hard to back out of once we take this step," Barth said. He added that the arrangement "feels way less than ideal."
The remaining commissioners approved the $2.2 million engineering agreement in a voice vote. Barth abstained from casting a vote.
Responding to questions via email, Water Reclamation Authority Chief Executive Officer Jean Block on Friday said that Central Arkansas Water asked the Water Reclamation Authority to operate and maintain the Wrightsville treatment plant.
"We informed them that [the Water Reclamation Authority] could operate and maintain the collection system portion only (the sewer lines) of the Wrightsville wastewater treatment system subject to the approval of the Little Rock Water Reclamation Commission and the Little Rock Board of Directors," she wrote.
The arrangement would have the wastewater authority serve as a third-party contractor and be reimbursed for its costs, according to Block.
She said the parameters of an agreement between the Water Reclamation Authority and Central Arkansas Water had yet to be discussed.
When asked about Central Arkansas Water's anticipated timeline, Block indicated that the wastewater utility might not take up items related to Wrightsville until next year because of other priorities.
"[The Water Reclamation Authority] is squarely focused on the adoption of our 2024 budget and finalizing the necessary reports and information for the conclusion of the Consent Administrative Order and the Sierra Club Settlement Agreement which have a December 31, 2023 compliance deadline," she wrote. "I don't anticipate turning our attention to the Wrightsville matter until early 2024."
Bohannon's memo contemplated that the Little Rock Water Reclamation Commission would approve an operating and maintenance agreement on Nov. 15, but a Central Arkansas Water spokesperson said there was no hard deadline for the wastewater authority's participation.
"There are no issues with [the Water Reclamation Authority] and the timeline," Douglas Shackelford wrote in an email Friday. "The decision to move forward can still be made by the [Central Arkansas Water] Board of Commissioners in December while work with [the Water Reclamation Authority] continues to progress."
When asked about Weindorf's comment regarding the Water Reclamation Authority's jurisdictional limitation, Block wrote on Saturday that the wastewater utility historically "has viewed the issue of providing sewer service outside Little Rock city limits as a policy decision best made by Little Rock's city leaders. For this reason, before providing such service, the utility has always sought initial approval from its own Commission, and if approval is granted, the utility takes it to the Little Rock Board of Directors who has final approval. I agree with this approach and will continue it."