Highfill Bidding for New Sewer System

Development in the tiny burg home to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is going forward with bids solicited for a new $6.5 million sewer system.

The treatment facility to be constructed at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 264 and Bryant Road will serve about 30 residential customers and pave the way for the 1,700-acre Stone Hill subdivision and commercial development to get under way.

Highfill, along with several other Northwest Arkansas towns, is planning to connect to the $33 million regional sewer system proposed by the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority that is hoped to be online by 2010.

Mayor Chris Holland said the current plan is a temporary measure until Highfill can connect to the completed NACA, but without a larger customer base residents would be facing monthly bills nearing $100 and the town cannot wait until 2010 to begin commercial development along the airport corridor.

Construction of the Highfill system, paid for through the state water and soil department, is expected to take nine months and Holland hopes to begin as soon as possible after the bid deadline of Sept. 12.

He said Stone Hill alone has the potential to increase the population of Highfill to as much as 20,000.