FORT SMITH, Ark — It's been 10 years since the water plan was updated for the state of Arkansas. In August 2023, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an Executive Order 23-27 that requires an update to the state's water plan.
The Department of Agriculture went to different Arkansas cities for public input before the state's water plan was updated. Fort Smith Director of Water Utilities Lance McAvoy said the city is focused on improving its flood plan, drinking water, and infrastructure.
"Infrastructure is getting older," he said. "We're seeing population growth. We need to add larger lines. We need to have more treatment [and] more sources ... so a lot of it went into making sure that over the next 10 years, the state is poised for population growth and economic growth, while still conserving and preserving the environment needs that the state has. We are the Natural State and we want to continue to be that."
McAvoy said the city has a strategy in place to maintain those needs.
"By protecting our water sources and doing what's called source water protection, so that you don't have to have extra cost in the treatment of the drinking water, you can treat it because it's already so clean," he said.
As of now, the city and state are looking at flooding because there has been an uptick in localized flooding on the streets due to urban runoff.
"Some of it we're dealing with is higher rainfall totals in a short period of time," McAvoy adds "You have two inches fall in 15 minutes, there's not a town that I know of in the United States that can handle that type of rainfall. Usually that two inches would be spread out over six hours, so when you start seeing heavy, intense rain events, you're going to have some localized flooding."
Right now, McAvoy said they're in the early stages of developing a plan for the city.
"So we're looking at where are we now? Where are we heading? And that's going to give us a work plan going forward," he said.
Drinking water quality isn't an issue for the city, but McAvoy's department is working with other state entities to keep it that way in the future.
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