Repair estimate to fix West Memphis sewers more than $20 million

City gets eight-figure price tag for massive rehab project

news@theeveningtimes.com

With the City of West Memphis already set to spend $20 million on new buildings and $10.8 million to upgrade parks, news came to the city council earlier this week of another must-do project that will come with a multimillion- dollar price tag.

Utility commissioners and members of the West Memphis city council met in joint session Monday to hear details of an estimated $20-$25 million overhaul of the wastewater treatment plant that will be required to satisfy the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and avoid sanctions on the city.

Fisher & Arnold Engineering presented a study to the group that recapped the problems leading the ADEQ to place the city under a corrective action plan and addressed costly remedies.

The wastewater treatment plant dumped 70 million gallon of raw sewage into the Mississippi River during three separate big rain events between 2014 and 2017. Another 107 sanitary sewer overflows totaling 84,000 gallons were self reported by the utility to the state. The sewage plant runs near capacity all the time. Over the past two years, the utility spent $4 million studying the problem and fixing some inflow and infiltration issues in old cracked wastewater pipes and crumbling manholes.

Since the state issued its improvement orders, another five plant bypass events shot another 150 million gallons into the river along with 26 more sanitary sewer overflows in the city.

Fisher & Arnold recommended a a five-point fix to address the ADEQ concerns: • Upgrade the existing aeration process

• Adding a force main the length of Avalon

• Connecting four pump stations to the Avalon line,

• Adding another force main to station ten on Jefferson Street

• Upgrading six pump stations headed to the deficient list Mayor Marco McClendon asked if the projects could be scheduled and paid for in stages, but the interconnected fixes presented an all-or-nothing proposition to avoid state and EPA fines that could double the cost of the upgrades.

Other cities have faced state takeovers when local solutions have not been implemented, according to West Memphis Utility Manager Todd Pedersen.

“The state has come in and said ‘you’re going to do it this way and you are also going pay this fine,’” said Pedersen “We are trying to proactively do this and show effort. This process design, ADEQ approval — you are looking at three years.”

Paying for the big repair project exceeded the cash reserves available to the utility. Utilities General Manager Todd Pedersen addressed other methods of paying for the remedies.“ I’ve spoken to City Treasurer Frank Martin, this will definitely require a bond issue,” said Pedersen.

To make the bond payments, a moderate rate increase would follow.

“We have the lowest water rates, maybe in the country and the lowest wastewater rates in the state,” said Pedersen.

City utility rates for the water and wastewater have been frozen for a generation.

“We could have a rate increase and still be the lowest in the state,” said utility commissioner Jerry Burns.

“This is critical,” said Economic Development Director Phillip Sorrell.

“The expansion of the wastewater treatment plant is critical for industrial and economic growth. We are tapped out with capacity now.”

Ward four and five council representatives agreed.

“It’s got to be done,” said Councilman Willis Mondy.

“Our citizens deserve good services.”

“There is no way around it,” said Councilwoman Helen Harris. “We needed that 20 years ago.”

“We have a number of expensive projects going in the city right now, but nothing could be more important than fixing our infrastructure,” said City Councilman Charles Wheeless.