FAYETTEVILLE -- Customers on the community sewer system that serves Valley View Estates and nearby subdivisions will see their bills increase in April as new rates go into effect to pay costs to connect the neighborhoods to the city of Prairie Grove's municipal sewer system.
Washington County Property Owners Improvement District #5, owner of the Valley View sewer system, recently sent out letters to its customers in Valley View Estates, Walnut Grove Acres, Meadowsweet, Highland Green and Saddlebrook subdivisions.
The letter said the improvement district has secured financing to build a sewer line to the city of Prairie Grove for treatment and disposal of wastewater. Plans have been approved, easements obtained and a construction contract signed.
Construction began in early March and is scheduled to be completed in 260 days, around the end of October.
The project calls for a second lift station at Giles Road and a sewer line that goes from Giles Road to a metered location near Tristan Lane on U.S. Highway 62. From that point, a gravity flow line will follow the highway, go under the Illinois River and connect to Prairie Grove's Sundowner lift station.
The city of Prairie Grove is partnering with the improvement district to pay some of the costs of the gravity line.
William Winn with Winn Environmental Tech is serving as project manager. His firm completed all the engineering work for the sewer project.
The new sewer rates will be effective with the April 25 statements mailed out by Washington Water Authority.
Customers will pay a $50 monthly base charge and $7.50 per 1,000 gallons as a usage charge. For a customer who uses an average 4,000 gallons of water per month, the bill will be around $80.
Previously, the district collected a $40 flat fee from all customers, regardless of the water used. The district's contract with Prairie Grove for sewer service is based on usage and metered flows to the city's sewer treatment plant.
Jerry Kopke with Communities Unlimited, a non-profit rural development organization that is overseeing the improvement district's sewer system at this time, said the new rates will help the district in two ways.
The $50 base fee will go toward fixed costs and debt service to pay off the loans for the sewer construction project.
The district has received three low-interest loans from Arkansas Natural Resources Commission for a total of $5.25 million. Two of the loans are deferred loans to provide time for future customers to connect to the system and bring in more revenue.
Goodwin & Goodwin Inc., was awarded the $2.8 million contract for the line work and lift station, and H&H Directional Boring Inc., has been contracted to bore underneath the Illinois River for about $350,000.
Net proceeds from the usage charge will be used for treatment costs, maintenance and operation and other variable expenses, Kopke said. The city of Prairie Grove will charge the district $6.22 per 1,000 gallons for treatment, leaving net proceeds of $1.28 per gallon for the district.
Kopke has been overseeing the improvement district for three years, since Communities Unlimited was named receiver in April 2016 because of ongoing problems with the community sewer system and violations with state law.
He has worked with Winn in considering options on how best to proceed and getting a new wastewater permit from Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality so that new construction could proceed in the district. The district's three member board of directors also has been involved in the process the past three years, with all decisions being made by that board.
William Stephenson, board chairman, said the option to join Prairie Grove's municipal system satisfies the immediate need of sewer service with the capacity for customer growth in the future.
"It's the best thing to do for that community," said Stephenson, who also serves as president of the Valley View Estates Property Owners Association. "I think as a whole it will make the community more valuable for it to be on a municipal sewer system."
As a member of the board, Stephenson said he is charged with making sure the district has a sewer system that is safe and clean for the customers.
As POA president, he is looking out for everyone's property value.
"This option fits all those requirements," Stephenson said.
Kopke agreed, adding, "Even though it will increase rates substantially, it represents the best solution for what we were trying to resolve three years ago. This will allow the district and the city (of Prairie Grove) to grow."
In a meeting last week, Kopke, Winn and Stephenson said the success of resolving the sewer system problem can be attributed to several factors. In particular, they pointed to the low-interest and deferred loans from Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, the Washington Water Authority which agreed to mail out statements and collect money and the city of Prairie Grove.
Stephenson said the problems with the sewer system the past three years does not appear to have affected growth.
The customer base has grown from 445 customers in May 2016 to 587 in March, according to Kopke.
New construction is ongoing and houses are selling, Stephenson added.
One issue remains to be resolved, Kopke said, and that is to get an easement to the district's lines on the golf course. Negotiations for that are ongoing.
After that is resolved, the last step will be to end the receivership and turn over the system to the district's commission. Kopke did not know when that would happen. Winn most likely would continue in his role as engineer for the system going into the future.
Until the project is completed, the district will continue to use a private company to haul untreated wastewater to Prairie Grove's sewer treatment plant.
General News on 04/17/2019