Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New regs won't be cheap

Meeting new water regulations set forth by the Arkansas Department of Health will be costly for the City of Prescott.

James Rice, with NRS Engineering of Texarkana, spoke to the Prescott City Council, Monday, June 18, saying to do the basic work to upgrade the city's water system will cost about $1,787,000.

This wasn't new news for the council, as Rice had been before it on other occasions, also telling of the required upgrades then.

The city, he said, doesn't have a choice in the matter, as the changes have been mandated by the ADH, under the Enhanced Surface Treatment Rule.

The most pressing matter for Prescott, he said, is the lack of clear well capacity.

Rice suggested a 1.5 million gallon clear well, telling the council a smaller one could be built, but it wouldn't meet future requirements or allow for growth.

The improvements, including a clarifier at the plant to inject chemicals into the water for purification at the clear well, must be done by 2003, according to ADH regulations.

And, Rice said, in order to expand the city's water system, more storage will be needed.

An upright tank could be used, but would require more maintenance than a below-ground tank. He said a concrete tank built 10 or 12 feet

Chlorine must be in the water a specified amount of time before the water is put into the system for customer use, Rice said. Currently, the city feeds the chlorine in at the river before the water is filtered.

The new ADH rules, he said, require the chlorine to be added after going through the filter, which is why a clear well is needed.

And, Rice said, in order to expand the city's water system, more storage will be needed.

An upright tank could be used, but would require more maintenance than a below-ground tank. He said a concrete tank built 10 or 12 feet below ground.

At this depth, he said, the tank would be below the soil problem area the region has.

Additionally, a ground tank could have generators added so the system wouldn't go down in the event of an extended power outage. This could be done for about half the cost of an elevated tank, he said.

With a ground tank, he continued, the chlorine could be added as water runs in, then held for the specified time before putting it into the system for the public.

In the past, Rice said, these regulations were for cities with populations of 10,000 or more, but the Environmental Protection Agency dropped the population limit to 3,000.

The city, he said, doesn't have to do all the work at once, just what's been mandated.

Some of the proposed improvements are future phases to be finished by 2005, and are based on the city's projected growth in the next four years.

For those improvements, Rice said, the city may be able to get EPA grants to help defray the costs.

Now, should the city not meet the 2003 mandates, he said, it could be placed under an administrative order, with the ADH setting up a schedule of achievement. And, if the city remained out of compliance, it could be penalized in other ways.

The $1,787,000 estimate, Rice said, includes a 10 percent contingency fund. He added this figure is nothing more than an estimate as bids have not been let on the project yet.

Generators could run the high service pump during power outages, and, could run the entire plant, if necessary.

Phase I of the project, he said, includes the clear well, high service pumps and generator. This portion of the project would run about $1.1 million, he said.

Phase II would add the clarifier.

How would these improvements be paid for?

Rice said bonds will be sold to fund part of the costs, but local water customers could also be hit with an increase in their rates.