Water merger moves forward

Central Arkansas Water OKs Wrightsville finances, rates

Central Arkansas Water’s board of commissioners on Thursday approved measures associated with the drinking water utility’s merger with the wastewater treatment system in Wrightsville, including a resolution establishing wastewater rates.

Approval came in spite of reservations expressed by Jay Barth, the chair of Central Arkansas Water’s board, who voted “present” on three of the four items related to Wrightsville.

Although he said he was “incredibly sympathetic” to the Wrightsville community’s needs, the consolidation plan “just doesn’t feel as fully baked as I would like it to be on a lot of fronts,” Barth said.

He said he worried about “pulling our employees into areas that they may not have the full time or expertise to do as well as they would like.”

The consolidation plan was prompted by problems affecting the Wrightsville system that led state environmental regulators to reach out to Central Arkansas Water.

Approximately 67% of the daily flow to the Wrightsville wastewater treatment plant is from the nearby Wrightsville Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Another 25% comes from communities north of Wrightsville that are served by a collection system under the Sweet Home, Higgins and Red Oak Sewer Facilities Board.

In October, the Wrightsville City Council approved a consolidation agreement meant to allow Central Arkansas Water to absorb the system and oversee improvements. The agreement and related items got the approval of Central Arkansas Water’s board two months later.

A $5 million award from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission is expected to help underwrite the cost of the improvements through loan principal forgiveness.

Tad Bohannon, the chief executive officer of Central

Arkansas Water, reminded commissioners on Thursday that a notice to proceed on the project must be issued by the end of this month to obtain the $5 million.

If officials miss the deadline, “it really puts a wrinkle” in the affordability of the project for the community, Bohannon said.

The project is expected to cost nearly $16 million.

One looming question is whether elected officials at the city of Little Rock will authorize the municipal wastewater utility, the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, to oversee the Wrightsville collection system even though the system is beyond the city limits.

That could potentially undercut the city of Little Rock’s long-held practice that areas outside the city cannot take advantage of the municipal wastewater system.

Unlike the Water Reclamation Authority, Central Arkansas Water serves the whole region and was created by the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The tentative partnership between the two utilities would have Central Arkansas Water retain ownership of the Wrightsville wastewater system while operating the treatment plant and pump stations.

The Water Reclamation Authority would function like a contractor with the responsibility for inspecting, cleaning and maintaining the Wrightsville gravity collection system under an initial two-year agreement.

The commission that oversees the Water Reclamation Authority approved the arrangement last month.

Leaders of the two utilities appeared before the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday and discussed the proposal during an agenda-setting meeting ahead of the city board’s March 19 formal meeting, at which time the city board was scheduled to consider a resolution authorizing the Water Reclamation Authority to enter into the maintenance contract.

However, on Thursday, City Director Virgil Miller Jr. of Ward 1, who serves as the city board’s liaison to Central Arkansas Water, informed commissioners that consideration of the resolution has been postponed to allow the city attorney’s office to review the proposed agreement for any future policy repercussions that it might create.

Bohannon told commissioners at one point on Thursday that the city taking more time to make a decision would not imperil the project’s timeline or the $5 million.

During the meeting, Central Arkansas Water’s board approved a resolution establishing rates and a debt surcharge for the Wrightsville area; a resolution authorizing the issuance of a revenue bond of close to $11 million to be repaid using wastewater revenues; a construction contract with a guaranteed maximum price of roughly $12 million tied to the Wrightsville improvements; and the agreement with the Water Reclamation Authority.

Barth, who was attending the meeting via teleconference and had ceded his duties as chair to Vice Chair Carmen Smith, voted in favor of the Water Reclamation Authority agreement. He explained that he saw a partnership between the two utilities as the best route.