Springdale lays plans for water tower project

Utility aims to better serve residents in city’s southwest

SPRINGDALE — Springdale Water Utilities plans to build a water tower in the southwest corner of the city to better serve residents now and ensure capacity for growth in the future.

Construction of the 3 million-gallon capacity tank might lead to higher rates for residents, said Heath Ward, executive director of the utility.

The utility plans to present the large-scale design of the project today for approval by the city’s Planning Commission. The water tower will sit behind the First Church of the Nazarene on South 40th Street.

The tower is part of a bigger project to deliver water to the western parts of the city, Ward said. The utility also will install two 48-inch pressurized pipelines to carry water from the west side pumping station planned along Arkansas 612 by the Beaver Water District.

Utility officials said the project is essential to cover the potable water needs of the growing city. Some residents in the southwest area already experience lower water pressure from time to time, Ward said.

Paying for this west side water tank and main lines “is complicated,” Ward said.

Inflation, interest rates, supply chain shortages and labor markets have made him unsure to quote a price. And the utility currently has five ongoing projects that will cost more than $20 million each.

The utility pays for the work over time, with money from its capital reserves, the sale of bonds and low-interest loans, Ward said.

Rick Pulvirenti, chief operating officer and engineer for the water utility, said Friday the cost of the project was estimated at $52.3 million. Brad Hammond of engineering firm Olsson in October 2021 said the project could cost as much as $28.2 million.

“If we continue to grow, projects like this have got to be done,” Ward said.

“Ultimately, we will have to raise rates, but I think everybody knows that.”

SPRINGDALE PRIDE

The property on which the tower would sit holds an agricultural designation, as does the church property. Both are surrounded by single-family homes.

Rick Barry, assistant director of the city’s Planning Department, said a water tower is an acceptable and legal use for the property, according to Springdale’s zoning ordinances.

Barry said the Planning Department staff does expect opposition to the tower.

The water tower has been a part of the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission’s long-range plan for many years. Ward said the commission bought the land “decades ago, for this use.”

The tower will reach about 120 feet, Pulvirenti said.

Drivers on Interstate 49 would see the tower to the east, Ward said. The utility plans to put the city’s name on the tower.

Pulvirenti said the tank wouldn’t make noise nor would it smell once construction is completed.

Water is stored in elevated tanks, which use gravity to keep pipe mains below ground full and pressures high. Especially in times of peak use, the extra water held in the tower will ensure water for everyone. When demand slacks, the station quickly pumps the tower full again and ready for the next peak.

“You don’t realize it, but that area is one of the highest elevations in the city,” he said. The site is about 1,352 feet above sea level.

The Springdale Fire Department relies on an adequate supply and pressure of water to fight fires. The Springdale utility worked closely with the Fire Department to ensure those pressures, which earned the city the top rating by the Insurance Services Office.

Kenneth Ford and his wife, Juanita, live on Carly Street and, along with their son, have owned and managed rental properties in the surrounding neighborhoods.

They said Thursday they knew nothing of plans for the tower but don’t have a problem with its construction.

Kenneth Ford noted that 20 years ago, the population of Springdale was about 52,000 people. The city includes 87,609 people according to a July estimation by the U.S. Census Bureau.

“And how much has been built to the west since then?” Ford asked rhetorically. “If the city is expanding that way, and Springdale needs to do it, it’s OK with me.”

Rick Culver lives exactly across 40th Street from the Nazarene Church.

“If we need it, I get it,” Culver said. “Every city has water towers. You’ve got to put it somewhere.”

Culver said he does experience a drop in pressure from time to time.

“It’s not terribly low,” he said. “But it’s less than here,” he said, referring to his workplace across town at the Rodeo Community Center. Culver is executive director of the Springdale Benevolent Foundation and Rodeo of the Ozarks.

REDUNDANT GROWTH

The two water main lines to be built with the tower project will provide the utility with a complete pipe loop surrounding the city.

The loop creates redundancy, explained Pulvirenti. If part of a main line delivering water fails, utility crews can isolate the failed portion, pumping water from another direction without the residents noticing a change in service.

The utility about five years ago completed a similar system for sewer service to the northwest quadrant of town, priming it for development.

But the city has grown faster than expected. The utility last year warned of a possible moratorium placed on residential development in the southeastern part of town.

The utility serves 3,500 customers in that southeastern quadrant of the city. Developers have approached the utility with plans for more than 2,000 new housing units in the area. But a moratorium was implemented because the sewer system there couldn’t handle that much sewage.

Philip Taldo is building a multifamily complex on Gene George Boulevard, west of Highlands Oncology. Lindsey Management opened a nearly 500-unit complex across the street from Northwest Arkansas Community College, and more are planned.

The city targeted the southwestern area around Arvest Ballpark for development 15 years ago. Northwest Arkansas Community College, Arkansas Children’s Northwest, Highlands Oncology and Blue Cross Blue Shield have built in the area.

Arkansas Children’s plans an expansion, Taldo said, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has announced plans to build an orthopedic hospital in the area.

“Hospitals are a big user of water — not as much as a poultry processing plant, but still a big user,” Ward said.

Taldo hopes the city can stay ahead of the development.

“They need to have some plans to do something in the near future,” he said.

Ward said the gaps in the supply chain and the labor market and rising interest rates have slowed the frantic pace of development in the city and bought the utility some time.

“About half of the planned developments out there aren’t happening right now,” he noted.