Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Water Project Bids To Be Taken After Jan. 1

Bids for the Waterloo-Bodcaw Water Project will be let shortly after Jan. 1, 1999.

Bodcaw Mayor Larry Hicks said the project will get water from Hope, having reached an agreement with the Hempstead County city to act as supplier.

However, with Hope supplying the water, the project will actually begin at 23rd Street, extending to Shover Springs, then on to Bodcaw and Waterloo.

Hicks said some 600 new customers are needed for the first phase of the project to keep the water rates low.

Several wells in the Bodcaw and Waterloo areas went dry this summer, making it hard on the residents there. Such problems are why the project was begun in the first place.

The initial idea on a water supply for the project was deep wells. However, three test drills were made, one of at least 500 feet, and no water was found. This led to the deal with Hope.

The project first started seven or eight years ago, but went nowhere. About two-and-a- half years ago Rosston took up the banner, but let it go.

This left the door open for the Bodcaw and Waterloo communities, something Hicks said is good for them.

Getting easements for the project, he said, was a headache, but one suffered primarily by the Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District (SWAPDD) of Magnolia, as this organization obtained the easements.

Funding for the initial phase was obtained from the Arkansas Economic Development Corporation and loans from the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation District. The AEDC grant was for $1.5 million, with an additional $2 million to be borrowed.

Construction of phase I will take eight or nine months, he said, depending on the weather.

The second phase, Hicks said, will run another three or four million dollars, with much of this money coming from the Rural Development Administration.

Some 35 Hope area residents have signed up in the Shover Springs area, Hicks said, but about 170 are needed to help keep the rates reasonable.

He credited Sen. Mike Ross and representatives Judy Smith, Percy Malone and Sandra Rodgers for their work in helping the project become a reality.

"(Nevada County) Judge James Roy Brown has been a big help," Hicks said. "He's been a partner (with us) in getting it going."

The decision to work with Hope, he said, came about because this city has a modern treatment plant designed to handle six million gallons per day and is only using a third of this capacity.

Under phase I, the areas to be served will be along Highway 4, and Highway 53 from Hwy. 4 to two miles south of Bodcaw.

From there, Highway 32 west of Hwy. 53 to Hope, then from Hwy. 32 east of 53 to the Willisville area.

It will then extend down highways 76 and 4 to the Ouachita County line.

Hope areas to be affected by the project will be 23rd Street, 28th Street, Highway 32 from Hope to Bodcaw, the Shover Springs area and Highway 4 from Hope to county road 52.

Phase II, beginning later in 1999, Hicks said, will affect the Bodcaw area from Falcon and New Hope, including Laneburg and Sutton.

The Hope area affected by the second phase will be Highway 4 to the county line and the Rocky Mound region.

The rates, Hicks said, based on 1,000 gallon minimums will be between $18.30 and 23.00 per month, depending on the customer base.

The second 1,000 gallons will be $3.80, up to 3,000 gallons and $2.80 for each thousand gallons thereafter.

There will be special rates for poultry houses, he said.

Signups done by Jan. 15, 1999, will cost $50 for the connection fee, with another $50 for meter deposit. The deposit is due before the meter will be set.

However, after Jan. 15, the connection fee will be $500.

Those interested in signing up to get water in the Bodcaw area should call 870-899-2407. Those in the Hope area need to call 870-777-4516.