The Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Commission this week approved more than $140 million in grants and loans for several water and wastewater projects in the state. The majority of the money will go to the Beaver Water District in Benton County.
The Beaver Water District received a loan of $125,686,157 from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund to build a 60-inch-diameter pipeline providing water to a large pump station, according to a news release Friday from the Department of Agriculture. The water customer base for this project is 380,000.
The district provides drinking water, sourced from Beaver Lake, to the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville, who distribute the water to residents and industries in their cities and surrounding areas, according to the district's website.
The commission also approved the following projects, according to the release:
• Bayou Meto Water District in Lonoke County received a $5 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act to install 10 pumping stations. These stations will move water through underground pipes to nonriparian farms, reducing the use of groundwater.
• White River Regional Irrigation District in Prairie County received a $5 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act to build five county road crossings over a 10-mile canal segment currently under construction.
• Horsehead Water Users Association in Johnson County received a $2,507,150 loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund to upgrade the water system. The customer base is 2,275.
• The city of Monticello in Drew County received a $2,300,880 loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to relocate the sewer collection system. The customer base for this project is 9,174.