Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sewer Work A Sticky Problem

By JOHN MILLER

Highway construction on Sticky Road is causing a problem for the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department.

According to Harold Hurst, department manager, a water line installed in 1992 may have to be moved because of the construction. He told the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission, during its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the road construction may leave the water line exposed.

The slope of the ditch being dug by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) will not properly cover the water line, Hurst said. The bottom of the ditch is lower than the water line.

Hurst said before the department laid the line in '92, he contacted the AHTD to see if the department had any plans for construction in the area of Highway 182.

He told the commissioners the AHTD informed him it did have plans, but said the line could be put in if the water department measured it 28 feet from the center of the existing road.

Hurst said the water line was measured off accordingly and actually ran inside fences in the area.

When the AHTD got the right of ways it needed, Hurst said, the water department had to move a fire hydrant.

Now, however, comes the problem with the water line.

Hurst said if the line has to be moved it should be done at the AHTD's expense and not the water department's. He's been talking with Ralph Williams, the head of the utility section of the AHTD, about the problem.

"We've done everything we've been told to do," Hurst told the commissioners. "They decided to straighten out some of the curves and redid their plans."

This change of plans could cause serious problems by leaving the water line exposed. Hurst said the line would not actually be fully exposed, but would have only about a foot-and-a-half of loose cover which would wash away in a heavy rain.

Hurst said the AHTD isn't giving the water department any options in the matter, but made its plans and took the land it needed for the road. However, he pointed out the water line was in place long before the highway construction began.

In other business, Hurst told the commission the test drilling has been completed on the well for the Gurdon Rural Water Project, with the casement, screens and gravel in place in the well.

A pump test was done and the well will be sized at 400 gallons per minute. Hurst said it is not known how much more this will cost, but no one expected this kind of water production from the well in the early planning stages.

A larger pump and motor will have to be ordered to handle the added capacity.

Hurst said the trunk lines may be completely finished this week if the weather holds and no changes have to be made.

The construction crews have also begun cleaning up after themselves, he informed the panel, saying they are doing a good job.

Talk turned to the backflow system which will have to be added to some businesses to be in compliance with state regulations.

This, Hurst pointed out, is not an option, but a mandate from the Arkansas Department of Health and must be done.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said the department owes it to the city's business people to see if there is any way this can be financed. Some local businesses, he said, are struggling and could possibly close down because of this new regulation.

Hurst said the information he received from the ADH stated the systems must be installed at the owners' expense. He said if the department went through state agencies for the money, the city would have to act as the borrower and the business owners would have to repay the city.

At this point, no one knows what it will cost to install the cross connect system to prevent backflow into the city's water system.

Hurst said the city must first pass an ordinance adopting the measure, then a state inspector can be brought in to tell which businesses will be affected and roughly what it will cost to have the systems put in place.

He also pointed out the customers in Whelen Springs will have to comply with this issue as they are also customers on the Gurdon system.

The cross connect system will primarily affect commercial and industrial customers, not residential clients.

Smith said it was foolish to require industry and commercial accounts to have the systems when residential customers can also contaminate the water system.

Hurst said when the code changes the state may require this of new residential accounts.

Discussion then turned to running a water line to deer camps along the river near Beirne. There are 13 camps wanting to be hooked onto the rural water system.

Charles Summerford, project engineer, said it will cost an additional $27,000 to put the extra 3.5 miles in, and the water commission voted to do it if the money is there at the end of the project.

The problem is what to charge these customers for the hookup. Summerford suggested letting them pay $125 as early customers did because they didn't have the opportunity to sign up before the April 1, 1997, deadline.

Under the city's ordinance, though, these customers can be charged $350 for the hookup.

Hurst said letting them hook onto the system for $125 could cause problems with other customers who didn't meet the deadline, even though they may have had the chance.

He said these 13 customers would help pay the $709,000 owed, even though there are no permanent residents at the camp. These people, he said, would be obligated to pay the minimum bill for 36 months.

Smith said the 13 more customers and 3.5 miles of line mean more driving for water crews to check meters and make repairs.

The mayor said a separate accounting system was needed to keep up with the expenses of the rural system.

Hurst said once the system is paid off the city will own it. The extra 13 customers, he said, are an asset as they will help pay off the loans.