$7.5 million released for area water supply improvement

State and federal officials announced Tuesday (April 6) that the Franklin-Sebastian Public Water Authority will receive $7.5 million in federal stimulus funds to help secure water to more than 29,000 people in eastern Sebastian County and Franklin County.

Rep. Steve Breedlove, D-Greenwood, pushed the effort to improve the water supply to the area — even running into resistance from Fort Smith City Directors Bill Maddox and Kevin Settle who attempted to scuttle the water sale.

Breedlove told The City Wire that the $7.5 million grant authorized by Gov. Mike Beebe and to come through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission will fund 80% of the project. He said the remainder will be funding with “very minimal” rate increases for water users.

“They (rates) could have been astronomical without that (funding),” Breedlove said, adding that the money will help bring a stable supply of clean water to Charleston, Lavaca and many other communities east of Fort Smith.

According to a statement from the office of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Charleston officials sought to find a backup source of water after facing drought conditions several years ago.

“This water supply equipment will serve that purpose, and could also provide water to places including Greenwood and Fort Chaffee should the need arise,” noted the Lincoln office statement. “Specifically, the project includes engineering and construction of a 24-inch trunk line, a pump station and a two million gallon storage tank. This equipment will replace a 40-year-old, 8 inch line and a 250,000 gallon tank. Once completed, these upgrades are expected to serve the region for the next 50 years.”

Breedlove said the stable water supply combined with expansion of Arkansas 22 between Barling and Charleston will help open the door to development in those areas of Franklin and Sebastian counties.

“Lavaca and that whole area is going to take off, just really grow. You just watch it,” Breedlove said.

Sebastian County Judge David Hudson praised Breedlove’s tenacity in getting the project funded.

“What Steve did here is an example of government at its best; of government finding ways to collaborate and build partnerships to make something like this a reality,” Hudson said.

Fort Smith has agreed to sell 340,000 gallons of water a day to Charleston, Lavaca and the River South Water Users Association. The usage could increase to 490,000 gallons a day by the 20th year of the contract. Because Fort Smith already sells water to Lavaca, the net new water sales a day comes to 70,000 gallons a day, and would generate a little more than $60,000 annually. City Directors Maddox and Settle opposed selling water out of fear Fort Smith would run out.

However, Fort Smith’s water supply is healthy, according to a July 2009 report prepared by Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. The report shows Lake Fort Smith will meet the region’s water needs to 2060 — a full decade longer than expected when the $200 million Lake Fort Smith expansion was approved in the late 1990s. The lake expansion, completed in late 2006, increased water storage from about 8.4 billion gallons to almost 28 billion gallons, according to city info.