HOT SPRINGS -- A petition for an initiated ordinance to halt the city's efforts to acquire additional water from DeGray Lake, unless approved by voters, has been submitted to the Hot Springs city clerk's office.
The petition drive, which garnered about 1,500 names, was initiated by the Garland Good Government Group, said Bob Driggers, the group's chairman. Fewer than 500 names would need to be certified to get the petition on the ballot if it meets constitutional requirements.
The petition seeks to have an initiative placed on the Nov. 4 general election ballot "directing the city to immediately stop its efforts to procure water from DeGray Lake and build a new water treatment plant until and unless legal city voters approve the same; and to recover unexpended and unused funds already approved or appropriated for the project."
City Attorney Brian Albright said that assuming the petition meets the constitutional requirements, the city clerk will begin verifying the signatures and would probably start that process while the petition was being reviewed for constitutional compliance.
In order to be on the Nov. 4 ballot, Albright said the petition would have to be in the Garland County Election Commission's office by Sept. 4, or a special election would be needed.
The city has been seeking an additional source of raw water for a number of years.
It bought the rights to 20 million gallons of water a day from DeGray Lake from Central Arkansas Water.
The city's main water source is a 20 million gallons of water a day allotment from Entergy Arkansas Inc. through an intake on upper Lake Hamilton, with an additional allotment possible during peak days as long as the withdrawal doesn't exceed 30 million gallons of water a day.
"The purpose of the petition is to stop the city from wasting our money on building somewhere between $60 million and $100 million worth of facilities in another county," Driggers said.
The group advocates waiting for a study to be completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding taking water from Lake Ouachita -- another possible water source -- before moving forward with plans to take water from any other source.
Jim Fram, president of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, said he believes what the Garland Good Government Group is asking "would really tie the hands of the city board who we elected to run the affairs of the city."
State Desk on 09/01/2014