FARMINGTON -- Washington County's Rural Development Authority gave its support Monday to a plan that could raise water rates slightly while providing more water for increasingly thirsty rural customers.
The panel voted during its monthly meeting in Farmington to endorse a Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority proposal to build a new pipeline along the county's western edge and send more water to Prairie Grove, Lincoln and other small towns. The plan is one of two system expansion plans the authority is considering for the southern end of its coverage area.
The Benton-Washington Regional Public Water Authority is considering two options to increase water delivery to customers in south Washington County. The system can carry 6 million gallons a day.
Option 1, Wildcat Connection
• Cost: $8 million
• Description: A west-east pipeline running west of Tontitown, connecting to Washington Water Authority system.
• Immediate Boost: 1.3 million gallons a day
• Rate Increase: Between 13 and 26 cents per 1,000 gallons, or between 6 percent and 12 percent
Option 2, Parallel Pipeline
• Cost: $15 million
• Description: A 24-inch line parallel to the existing pipe that runs from west Benton County south toward Lincoln, connecting to Washington Water Authority system.
• Immediate Boost: 5.8 million gallons a day
• Rate Increase: Between 30 and 48 cents per 1,000 gallons, or between 14 percent and 22 percent
Water usage in Washington County's south spiked by 20 percent or more in some areas, Scott Borman, Water Authority general manager, told the county panel. Unincorporated county customers used almost 50 million gallons a month last year, for instance, up from less than 41 million gallons the year before. Prairie Grove's monthly usage went above 8 million gallons, up from about 7 million, in the same time.
The system can handle the load for now, Borman said, but a dry summer or more population growth could overwhelm it if nothing is done. The Water Authority distributes water from Beaver Lake to more than 100,000 people in the authority's southern end.
"The bottom line is we've got to get more water down to the south end," he said. "We're getting in a bottleneck situation."
The option the Rural Development Authority endorsed would build a 24-inch line parallel to the existing pipe that runs from western Benton County south toward Lincoln. There it would hitch onto the rural network of the Washington Water Authority, a division of the Rural Development Authority. The project could double flow capacity to 12 million gallons to the area.
A rate increase of between 30 cents and 50 cents per 1,000 gallons would cover the $15 million price tag starting next year, Borman said. Current wholesale rates are $2.15 per 1,000 gallons.
The other option, dubbed the Wildcat Connection, would connect to the county system with a new west-east pipeline running west of Tontitown. It'd cost $8 million and raise rates about half as much, but would carry much less water.
"The bang for the buck tends to make more sense with the parallel lines," Josh Moore, the Washington Water Authority's general manager, told the development authority members before their vote.
Either option would likely come online in 2017, Borman said. The Regional Water Authority board will discuss and could choose between the two plans during its meeting Thursday after hearing local government input, including Monday's vote.
Dan Holtmeyer can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @NWADanH.
NW News on 02/24/2015