Inspectors with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality once again found violations at a troubled wastewater treatment plant in West Fork, according to city and state officials Tuesday.
Inspectors visited the West Fork wastewater treatment plant April 2 and Thursday and found "sewage overflow was occurring and that wastewater was entering the White River," spokeswoman Katherine Benenati said Tuesday.
At A Glance
What’s Wrong?
The most common problem with West Fork’s wastewater treatment plant is its deteriorating collection system. During heavy and some light rain, stormwater seeps into the plant’s collection system, creating a problem. The plant also has a malfunctioning splitter box, structures that direct wastewater flow between treatment units and storage ponds.
Source: Arkansas Department Of Environmental Quality
Inspectors also found overflow at the plant's splitter box at the facility, Benenati said.
On Monday, inspectors returned and the overflow was still happening, she said. By Tuesday, environmental inspectors were again at West Fork to take samples, which have been dropped off at the state's laboratory for testing, Benenati said.
Residents shouldn't be concerned about the plant's recent overflow, said Michael "Butch" Bartholomew, city utilities superintendent. The plant floods during heavy rain, and what inspectors saw was rainwater, he said.
The state found a manhole that was overflowing, Bartholomew said. The state came to inspect the facility after an anonymous complaint was filed, he said.
The rain diluted the raw sewage, but the state agency believes the overflow "is still considered wastewater," Benenati said.
The sewage coming from the plant could become dangerous as temperatures increase and people start swimming in the water, said Kerry Krell, state Health Department spokeswoman.
"There are isolated and unregulated swimming holes along the river," Krell said. "Many harmful bacteria and viruses are found in raw sewage, so we are definitely concerned. Not to mention that the White River flows into Beaver Lake, the drinking water supply for most of Northwest Arkansas."
For years, residents have filed complaints about the plant, according to state records available online. Violations noted in a May 24 letter to the city from the state included an inspector finding overflowing waste, such as prophylactics, in final effluent at an outfall from the plant and before the West Fork of the White River. The city received its first Consent Administrative Order and an $800 fine in February 2013 over environmental violations.
The 2013 order is the only one the plant has received, Benenati said. Any new enforcement action from overflow would be decided at a later date, she said.
Bartholomew said previous environmental violations have been resolved. The plant files quarterly reports with the state now, he said. The city continues to make sewer-system repair, but the plant is 40-plus years old, in a floodplain and not built to meet current environmental standards, he said.
"Its useful life is at an end," Bartholomew said.
Meanwhile, the state wants to see the plant demolished by Jan. 30, according to its administrative order. Once closed, the city will keep ownership of the plant and will operate the collection system, Benenati said.
The city is working with McClelland Consulting Engineers in Fayetteville to finish paperwork and studies required to build a 7.3 mile-long wastewater pipeline from West Fork to Fayetteville, said Robert White, McClelland project engineer.
By the end of this year, the city plans to finish a sewer system evaluation survey to see what repair is needed for manholes and leaks in the system, White said. The survey is required for the city to get about $5 million in federal money for the project, he said.
The study might help West Fork immediately, White said. The information from the survey will be used to do repairs that could mean fewer overflows, he said.
NW News on 04/09/2014