Proposed Crawford County water pipeline project gets second wind

MOUNTAINBURG — A committee trying to get potable water to about 625 households in north-central Crawford County was given another chance last week to make the project happen.

Mountainburg’s City Council last Monday agreed to a request to extend until Oct. 1 the deadline for the city to receive 400 water-user agreements from residents, according to Mayor Susan Wilson.

The city received only 270 agreements and $100 deposits, which were also required, by the original June 1 deadline. The request came from a steering committee of property owners in an area not served by any water system, Wilson said.

Reaching the 400 goal would put into motion a project that would add 66 miles of pipe from Mountainburg’s water distribution system to households in the affected area.

Royal Wade Kimes, who put the committee together along with fellow property owner Cliff Hubbs, said the vote will allow the committee and its supporters more time to persuade property owners to sign the water-user agreements. “The neighbors are going to start helping now, and there’ll be some door-to-door visits that haven’t happened before because now we’re more pinpointed on who hasn’t signed,” Kimes said.

Wilson expressed support for the council’s decision. She said the city will continue holding monthly public meetings until Oct. 1 to provide residents information about the project and to sign an agreement. The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. July 1 at City Hall.

The affected households, between Mountainburg and Cedarville from the Washington County line south to Rudy, either rely on wells for their water or haul it in, according to Wilson.

Wilson said if 400 property owners in the area sign agreements, the city would notify funding agencies to demonstrate the project would be sustainable. The city would request money from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and Crawford County.

The proposal to lay 66 miles of pipe, developed by the committee and the Fort Smith-based firm Hawkins-Weir Engineers, would span two phases and cost an estimated $9.5 to $10 million.