BENTON COUNTY -- Rural water service rates in Northwest Arkansas are likely to increase in the next few months as the rural water authority adds a new water line to the southwest corner of its service area.
No formal increase was set Thursday during a board meeting for the Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority, but board members were preparing to return to the member cities with an estimated increase of 30 cents per 1,000 gallons of water. The authority sells water wholesale to most of the smaller cities in the region. The city members and the authority will use the 30-cent increase to figure 2016 budgets.
Bob Wright, senior managing director at Crews & Associates presented a preliminary estimate the authority needed a 25 cent increase to cover the payments on the bonds for the parallel lines project.
The authority saved money by refinancing and restructuring bonds last year, Wright said, otherwise the increase would be more like 40 to 45 cents. Wright based the 25-cent estimate on 2014 sales figures.
"I've got cushion built into that," Wright said.
Board members, however, said they were more comfortable with a 30-cent increase for budgeting purposes after a 2007 bond issue fell apart because it relied too heavily on projected growth. And, they said, they'd prefer to announce a savings, not another increase later.
"I don't mind adjusting my budget so I save money," said David McNair, board chairman and Gentry representative.
Scott Borman, authority manager, said he'd based his budget on a 30-cent increase. Committee members will discuss the authority's draft budget in November.
"I'd feel better with 30 cents," Mike Taggart, board vice president and Bella Vista Property Owner's Association representative told the board.
Board members agreed to plan for a 30-cent increase.
Wright told board members an interest rate increase may happen by the time the project starts in spring and he'll return in December with a bond proposal.
The parallel lines project will deliver more water in areas such as Lincoln and Prairie Grove where demand for water has increased. Preliminary estimates put the project's cost at $15 million.
The engineering phase of the project is nearly complete, Matt Dunn, vice president of Crist Engineers told the board. Utilities have been located. Surveying is complete. A section of 18-inch line that must be replaced with 24-inch line to match the rest of the project was found behind the Gallatin Fire Department. That will add 3,000-feet of line to the project, Dunn told the board.
"Generally we're moving along," Dunn said.
He estimated the project, once all the permits are gathered, will be ready to start in April.
Authority members were presented with an option to add a 30-million-gallon tank near Lincoln and nearly $3 million to the cost of the project, increasing rates another 10 cents per 1,000 gallons of water. That idea was rejected.
Several board members said they thought each customer city should be responsible for its own storage. While others cautioned if one city is pulling too much water it will affect others.
A policy requiring cities to demonstrate water storage was floated at the meeting with members deciding to have lawyers review it before it's brought before the board.
The policy was based on a hydraulic model of the water system, Stewart Noland, president of Crist Engineers said after the meeting.
The faster water is used, the more wear it causes on the system, he said. The pumps work harder to push water faster and the pressure in the pipe and lack of head room all contribute to the strain.
A peak day can mean about one and a half times the water needed on an average day and a peak hour could be another one and a half times the amount of water needed on that peak day, Noland said.
Storage allows water to be pumped through the pipe at a slower rate, easing the strain on the system, Noland said. Water storage can also be important in emergencies, he said.
If the authority had to build another 36-inch line it would be expensive.
The current $15 million project for the Siloam Springs to Lincoln line is about 11 miles, engineers said, but from the start of that line back to the treatment plant is closer to 70 miles.
There is storage along the authority's water line.
Board members pointed to Lincoln and Gentry as needing more storage and Prairie Grove as close to needing more as the city grows.
Gentry is buying land for a new tank, McNair said, noting a policy requiring cities to provide their own water storage will add years to the life of the entire system.
Borman said he would survey the member cities on current storage.
Regional authority
The Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority serves: Avoca, Bella Vista, Centerton, Decatur, Garfield, Gateway, Gentry, Gravette, Highfill, Hiwassee, Lincoln, Little Flock, Lost Bridge Village, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and the service area of Washington County Water Authority in Farmington.
Source: Benton Washington Regional Public Water Authority
General News on 10/28/2015