Northern Arkansas water pipeline won't bring drought relief

June 26, 2012|by Steve Grant, KY3 News | sgrant@ky3.com

VALLEY SPRINGS, Ark. -- By July 4, a few little towns in northwest Arkansas could be hauling water to cope with punishing summer weather. That’s why they’re counting the days until a massive pipeline project starts pumping. For some, however, it won't be a drought buster.

Boone County and nearly all of Arkansas are turning browner by the day. Many local governments have issued burning bans because it’s as hot as Hades. Creeks are drying up with no significant rain since spring. Even the grass awaits a resurrection like those resting in New Hope Cemetery near Omaha.

“We’ve had no rain -- only an inch-and-a-quarter since April 27,” said farmer Tim Moore, who also teaches agriculture at the local school and custom bales hay on area farms.

Stock tanks for livestock and backyard pools for families are the only oases across the parched landscape.

But, Valley Springs water customers have been asked to cut their use in half through Independence Day. That means no water for lawns, gardens, or topping off those family pools.

The little town's water system, population 167, is pumping around the clock, and struggling to keep the pressure up. Water Department Superintendent Josh Tramell says, if even one pump went down, "we never hauled water like some places have, but it would be a possibility."

Valley Springs will be among the first towns to hook on to the new regional pipeline. The Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority hopes it will be ready by summer's end for northern Boone County. The Valley Springs area could be hooked up by October on the south end.

Construction of the $70 milliion project is complete, but testing, sanitizing, and pressurizing are necessary before an abundant supply starts to flow from the massive treatment plant a mile from Bull Shoals Lake. The pipeline's intake station taps into Bull Shoals deepest channel near Tucker Hollow.

“We’ll pump 3 million gallons on a day like today,” said Andy Anderson of the Ozark Mountain Water Authority, who has headed the project for the past eight years.

Valley Springs has raised rates a little because pipeline water costs more, but folks figure a guaranteed supply is worth it because of the economic boost many agree it will give to towns it will feed.

The Marshall and Jasper areas at the end of the 120-mile pipeline, officials say, should be enjoying purified drinking water for the first time by Christmas.

Searcy and Newton Counties have struggled to get a reliable and safe drinking water source for decades. Both have naturally radioactive water because of radium and radon that permeate the earth below the surface.

Valley Springs' biggest water customer is its nearest neighbor, Western Grove, which has no deep water wells of its own. Only a water main connects those two small towns.

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