Federal funding to help Fort Smith build large water transmission line

The City of Fort Smith will receive $12 million to help with a 48-inch water transmission line from Lake Fort Smith thanks to appropriations bills signed by President Joe Biden last week.

The office of U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., announced Wednesday (March 13) that funding secured for Arkansas included $12 million for Fort Smith for a water transmission and $2.5 million for upgraded traffic to improve security access at Ebbing Air National Guard Base.

Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken said Boozman supported the city’s $12 million application to fund a project to build part of the 48-inch water transmission line from Lake Fort Smith.

“We appreciate the senator’s willingness to accept applications for funding and his unwavering support of Fort Smith and the generational projects we are undertaking,” Geffken said.

Projects eligible for the funding have to be “near shovel ready,” Geffken said, adding that the 48-inch water line project is “almost there.” The city has been working toward a 48-inch water transmission line that will cover over 30 miles from the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant located in Mountainburg to Fort Smith for a number of years.

The city has begun constructing the line, which will replace the original 27-inch water transmission line constructed in the 1930s. Phase I of the project, six miles from the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Facility to near the intersection of State Highway 282 and Interstate 49, is complete and Phase II, a 12-mile section from the end of Phase I to a location near the intersection of Rudy Road and Old Dollard Way, is under design, an update on the city’s website states. This project will be implemented in phases and is planned for completion in 2025.

“The larger diameter line will allow the amount of water supplied to the region’s water users to increase from 34 MGD (million gallons a day) to 70 MGD. It will also improve the level of service to the south and east sides of Fort Smith,” the website states.

In the Utility Department’s 10-year capital improvement plan for water, Lance McAvoy, director of utilities, budgeted $250,000 for Phase II’s environmental assessment and $14.223 million for construction in fiscal year 2024. The CIP for 2024 also shows $700,000 for design of Phase III; $250,000 for environmental assessment for Phase III; $500,000 for design of Phase IV; $2.5 million for design of Phase V; and $250,000 for environmental assessment of Phase V.

Representatives from Hawkins Weir Engineers Inc. addressed the Board of Directors Feb. 13, stating that the city is reaching its maximum daily water flow capabilities and the only fix, a 48-inch water transmission line and upgrades to the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant, will cost the city approximately $221 million. According to the study, the need for the 48-inch water transmission line and capacity upgrades to the plant are needed to ensure proper water pressure and fire flow to the area, McAvoy said in a memo regarding the study.

According to the Utilities Department’s CIP, it would take approximately $138.6 million for both phases of the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant capacity increase project for design and construction.

The CIP lists $66 million for phase one design and construction that would increase capacity from 40 million gallons per day to 55 million gallons and $72.6 million for design and construction of phase two, which will increase capacity from 55 million to 70 million gallons per day. The CIP shows $6 million for phase one in 2025 and $20 million per year in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

“Investing in our new water transmission line promotes sustainable growth and economic development. These efforts highlight our delegation’s ongoing commitment to Fort Smith’s prosperity,” Geffken said regarding the federal funding.

That funding also included $2.5 million for upgrading traffic infrastructure that will improve the entrance and security to the 188th Air National Guard base. Geffken said the 188th met with the city a few years ago to express their needs to improve the entrance gate and security and the $2.5 million will help achieve that goal.