SPRINGDALE -- Elm Springs and Springdale leaders are working to connect their two sewer systems to create a temporary sewer service solution for the smaller city.
Springdale Water and Sewer Commission approved a contract and accepted an inter-municipal sewer agreement with Elm Springs during Wednesday's meeting.
AT A GLANCE
Other commission action
• Approval of a bid for a fixed-base meter reading system.
• Approval of a change in the purchase of a one-ton truck from the State of Arkansas Vehicle Contract.
• Approval to pursue an engineering agreement with Garver for an electrical engineering feasibility study at the wastewater treatment plant.
• Adoption of the final draft of the water and sewer master plan.
• Approval of an agreement with the Arkansas State Highway Commission establishing cost and reimbursement for water and sewer relocation along Arkansas 265. Springdale Water Utilities will be fully reimbursed.
• Approval of a bid for phase one of water and sewer relocation associated with the future 412 bypass. Springdale Water Utilities will be partially reimbursed.
• Authorizing utility officials to negotiate a contract for selection of professional engineering services for the relocation of water and sewer facilities along Cambridge Street.
• Approval for utility officials to pursue negotiations with the city for use of utility land for part of a trail. Commissioners requested the use be terminable at the utility’s will.
Source: Staff Report
Elm Springs has a septic tank effluent pumping system, which is similar to a septic system, but larger and with a treatment process, said Derl Howerton, chairman of the Elm Springs Sewer Committee, at its October meeting. The city's population has grown over the years, and the system is getting close to capacity.
The system could also have environmental problems if more than 100 homes are added, said Elm Springs Mayor Harold Douthit on Wednesday. There is no problem right now, but the contract with Springdale would help the city avoid one.
The connection would last for 18 months, Douthit said, giving Elm Springs officials time to find a long-term solution.
"We're backed into a corner, and we have to do something," he said.
Douthit said the goal is to shut down the "drip field," which Heath Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities, said is part of the system in Elm Springs.
"We're not trying to hold on or grow our customer base," Douthit said. "We're trying to serve our citizens."
The commission also discussed the subject at its Jan. 21 meeting. Ward said at the time connecting to Springdale's sewer system would be "a Band-Aid" for the problem until Elm Springs officials find another solution.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse attended the January meeting and said the City Council would have to approve the agreement. The Elm Springs City Council would also have to be involved.
"There are a lot of what ifs," he said at the time.
The commissioners in January ultimately directed staff members to create a contract for them to approve.
The draft of the contract brought forward at Wednesday's meeting is based on a similar contract Springdale Water Utilities had with Tontitown in the past, said Terry Phillips, chief financial officer and director of administration for the utility. The contract was modified to work for Elm Springs.
Tontitown now works with the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority for sewer service, Ward said.
The current contract is nine pages long. It reads that several facilities, including an extension of a pressure sewer system to an area near the Ball Lift Station, will need to be designed, constructed, operated and maintained by Elm Springs at its expense.
The drafted contract also reviews specifics, such as quantity, point of delivery, metering equipment, wastewater standards and billing and payment. The Springdale utility plans to charge Elm Springs a minimum of $600 a month for treatment of 1,500 gallons with a cost per thousand gallons as the amount increases.
The contract requires signatures from the city's mayors and secretaries, chairmen of the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission and the Elm Springs Sewer Commission, Springdale's city clerk and Elm Springs' city recorder/treasurer.
Chris Weiser, chairman of the commission, said the contract will have to be on a Springdale City Council Committee meeting agenda before it's brought to a City Council meeting.
"Now it's at the mercy of the politics," he said.
NW News on 02/19/2015