FORT SMITH, Ark. — Fort Smith is a growing city, and with new developments like those at Chaffee Crossing, officials say the city needs to upgrade their water service infrastructure.
Continuously hitting the maximum daily capacity of both the water treatment plants and the current transmission lines could cause unnecessary damage to an already strained system.
“Fort Smith has grown,” said Lance McAvoy, Director of Water Utilities for Fort Smith. “And as it has grown, it needs more water.”
The city is currently in the beginning phases of trying to replace the current 27 and 36-inch pipes that flow from the Lee Creek Reservoir and Lake Fort Smith, with 48-inch ones.
Both pipes, according to McAvoy, have lasted past their life span, and are in need of replacement.
“To supply more water, we have to upsize the pipe,” McAvoy said. “What we're doing and trying to do is put a 48-inch transmission line that would run all the way from Lake Fort Smith to the east side of Fort Smith into the Chaffee Crossing area."
Replacing the transmission lines, however, is not the only fix that's necessary. To get the most out of a larger pipe, and to keep water moving efficiently, upgrades to the currently existing water treatment plants will be needed as well.
"When you build a much bigger pipe 48-inch compared to the 27, you need more water to put into that pipe,” McAvoy said. “You have to expand the treatment capacity of the plant as well.”
Finalization of the entire project is not expected until 2029, and it is expected to cost more than $200 million. The city is looking at funding in places such as grants and congressional spending.
In the meantime, McAvoy stated that water conservation efforts, especially during months of high usage, will be utilized to keep daily maximum water flow capacity averages down.
“First and foremost, conserving water, especially during hot times of year, is really important,” McAvoy said. “Just so we're not stressing the plants, we're not stressing the lakes, and we're able to deliver the water. Water conservation is one of the main tools that we have.”
All of this is the city’s way of making sure the water supply does not impact the growth of Fort Smith and the surrounding communities.
“We already are looking at plans on how to expand Lee Creek as well, because we know that Fort Smith is a huge area of growth,” McAvoy said. “I don't want water to be hampering growth in the future.”
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