City water, sewer services coming to Arcadia
ARCADIA — The men and women of the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star have been serving Arcadia’s less fortunate for more than 100 years, but never have they had running water in their tiny meeting house on the south edge of town. They rely on a space heater when it’s cold outside, and a window unit air conditioner when it’s hot.
The lodge once had a bathroom, if you count the outhouse they used until the 1970s. A spruced-up version of the outdoor toilet is now among the antiquity exhibits at the nearby Arcadia Round Barn. It’s next door to the Round Barn’s modern brick restroom building, which is where the lodge members go if nature calls.
“We only meet when the barn is open,” said Steve A.W. Linzy, 59, master of Bright Day Lodge 155, Prince Hall Affiliate, chartered in 1910.
But fortune smiled upon them with the announcement that city water and sewer services are coming to Arcadia. Like others in town, they have a well on their property, though it no longer functions, but there is no septic tank.
So as funds allow, a space in the rear of the building that was once the garage will be weatherized and turned into a bathroom. Members will do some of the work themselves.
No money will be taken from their holiday gift basket appropriation, or the funds reserved for scholarships or back-to-school backpacks. This will be extra, raised through ventures such as the two fried fish dinners held on recent Saturdays. They aren’t soliciting cash donations, but wouldn’t turn them down, either.
The Bright Day Lodge has 35 members, Linzy said. Dues are $100 a year, but that’s not enough to fund their charitable giving. When it comes time to pay for the holiday baskets and school supplies, he said, they “pass the hat,” and partner with the Eastern Stars and accept community donations.
“We do what we can with what we have, but we do make a difference,” Linzy said.
“It was past time the lodge had a bathroom,” said Arcadia Mayor James H. Woodard, 78, who joined the Masons when he was 21.
“The overall positive effect of the sewer and water will help Arcadia in many areas,” Woodard said. “We are looking for more businesses to come in. We are looking for more houses, because it will be easier; they won’t have to drill a well and put in a septic tank. Young people can come back home and build a house more easily.”
Arcadia already has town water lines and two water towers in place. But the two wells the town drilled do not meet drinking water standards and are used only for fire protection.
From Edmond to Arcadia
The treated water will be bought from the city of Edmond, which is running a line to Arcadia. A principal forgiveness loan from the drinking water state revolving fund will cover $2.5 million of the $2.7 million project, said Steve Lawrence, Edmond’s senior civil engineer. Edmond will pay the rest, as the project is also benefiting its residents.
The new water line will run from Douglas Boulevard to Post Road along Route 66, Lawrence said, then along Post to Danforth Road, where it will tie in with Arcadia’s system. Of the 3 ¼ miles of line,3 miles are within the Edmond city limits.
“The city did not have water lines in that part of Edmond,” Lawrence said. “People in that part of Edmond were pretty excited about getting the water, and the fire protection. It will improve fire flows in that part of Edmond.”
The USDA awarded Arcadia $3.8 million in grants and loans for the sewage system, said Janetta Chapple, who has spent more than 10 years as a special assistant and consultant to the town. The system is expected to be up and running by the end of the year, with the effluent piped to Edmond’s sewage treatment plant under terms of a contract already in place. Arcadia’s 240 or so residents must pay for their own water hookups, and septic tanks must be emptied.
“It’s almost impossible for each household to bear that expense,” Woodard said. “We have an older population.”
He said the city will seek funds to help residents with those costs. Participation will be mandatory, but Woodard said he has not heard any complaints.
“People are receptive,” he said. “Septic tanks can be expensive. They have to be cleaned out and maintained.”
The water line from Edmond will likely be finished by the end of April, and then the hookup work will begin.
“We are hoping by June of 2019 we can turn on the water,” Woodard said. “The water and sewer don’t have to start the same day. The sewer will require a separate hookup.”
Arcadia’s city limits encompass one square mile, and 148 residential customers and six commercial customers are expected to be served by the new systems. Chapple said a few people outside the legal boundaries, including a dairy, have asked for hookups as well.
“We are very excited about it,” Woodard said. “It’s been a long time coming.”