FAYETTEVILLE -- Officials urged people Thursday to limit recreational activity on a stretch of the West Fork of the White River after the Arkansas Health Department found a high level of E. coli bacteria in the water.
The area of concern is from West Fork to Greenland.
Sewer connection
West Fork and Fayetteville agreed to link the West Fork sewer system to Fayetteville’s wastewater treatment system. An 8-mile sewer line connecting West Fork to Fayetteville is expected to be under construction later this year and completed in 2020.
Source: Staff report
Activities such as swimming or canoeing putting a person in contact with the water should be avoided, according to the department.
The agency said testing done by the Beaver Water District and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality showed elevated concentrations of E. coli and total coliform in the river in an area starting at the Dye Creek Bridge in West Fork and ending about 3.4 miles downstream at the Baptist Ford Bridge on South Main Street in Greenland.
People who come into contact with the water are at higher risk of developing infections with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and urinary tract infections, according to the department.
The Health Department, Environmental Quality and West Fork are working to inform the public of the issue, according to the Health Department. The advisory is expected to continue until concentrations of E. coli and total coliform are consistently recorded within the limit of West Fork's wastewater permit.
West Fork Mayor Heith Caudle said the recent heavy rain is the cause of the problem, which he said is already diminishing.
"With the heavy rain, every sewer system around here is experiencing some of the same problems we are," Caudle said. "I do feel like we've been singled out. I spoke to the ADEQ earlier this week, and they agreed it's due to the heavy rainfall."
West Fork has been working for several years with ADEQ to resolve problems with its wastewater treatment facility, which was built in the 1970s. State inspectors in 2014 found during heavy rain solid waste overflowed from the plant and into the White River. The state fined the city $27,500, which was later reduced to $16,500.
The city and the state entered into a consent decree in 2014, and the city agreed to improve its sewer system and join Fayetteville's wastewater treatment system.
The city learned in December 2018 it will receive a package of three loans for the sewer project from the state's Natural Resources Commission. The city will receive a $412,000 loan for the project. Another loan for up to $3.5 million was approved, and the city received another $4.5 million loan in the form of principal forgiveness. The city will pay for about $3.5 million in the $8 million project.
West Fork has spent about $2 million to replace sewer lines. Caudle said residents will see a rate increase to pay for the improvement. West Fork will pay Fayetteville based on the volume of wastewater it sends.
The project includes about 8 miles of sewer lines, according to information from West Fork and Fayetteville. About half the district will be a gravity-flow system, and a pump station will boost the wastewater the rest of the distance.
Tim Nyander, Fayetteville utilities director, said the 2008 expansion of the city's sewer system, with a second treatment plant added, gives Fayetteville the capacity for about 20 years of growth. It won't strain the city to add West Fork's 800 customers, he said.
Fayetteville is expecting about 150,000 gallons of wastewater a day from West Fork.
Caudle said the project has been designed and most of the rights of way acquired for the line to Fayetteville. He said the project should be bid this summer and construction should be done in the late summer or early fall of 2020.
NW News on 05/24/2019