Water well testing authorized at planned prison site in Franklin County

The Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC) on Thursday (June 26) voted to authorize up to $50,000 to conduct testing for water well testing at a proposed prison site in Franklin County. The vote also included investigating the viability of existing wells on the property.

BOC Chair Benny Magness said those opposed to the planned 3,000-bed prison claim water access and/or water costs render the prison plan unfeasible.

“If you talk to some of the residents in Franklin County, they try to cite that there’s no water there, no water availability as far as digging, drilling a well,” Magness said during the meeting.

Gov. Sarah Sanders announced in October 2024 that the state had purchased land north of Charleston in Franklin County to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million. Once the prison is complete, it will employ nearly 800 individuals at an average salary of more than $46,600, according to the state. The most recent cost of the proposed prison was estimated at $825 million, more than double the approximate $405 million state officials said it would cost when it was first announced.

The effort to build the prison has generated opposition from some Franklin County residents and Arkansas legislators. The Arkansas Senate failed to advance a funding bill for a new state prison late in the session. The $750 million funding measure failed five times to get a 75% vote from senators.

Magness stressed that it’s important to show there is enough water to begin construction, and prove that the prison will have access to water either from Ozark, Fort Smith, or the Arkansas River.

“We’ve got to start moving forward on this site,” Magness said. “We have to. We’ve got to get some questions answered. … We have to have water there to sustain construction at the very least.”

The board voted on $50,000 for testing up to two wells, to test existing wells on the property, and determine the ability of the city of Ozark, which has a water line to the property, to supply water to the prison.

The BOC also voted for member Lee Watson, a Fort Smith resident, to represent the BOC on a prison planning executive committee. BOC member Grant Hodges will be Watson’s alternate on the committee.