
There are big-ticket items, and then there is the estimated $328 million to $585 million needed to make upgrades to Fort Smith’s water treatment operations and to complete a 48-inch water line between Lake Fort Smith and the city.
The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Aug. 26) listened to a broad update on the water treatment and transmission line work from Utilities Director Lance McAvoy.
The city has worked toward a 48-inch water transmission line that will extend 33.56 miles from the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant in Mountainburg to Fort Smith for a number of years. Water from the new line would service the area south of Zero Street in Fort Smith, according to McAvoy.
The existing 27-inch transmission line between Lake Fort Smith and Fort Smith was constructed in 1935 and 1936. The line carries around 35% of water from Lake Fort Smith. The 36-inch Lake Fort Smith transmission line was built in the 1950s-1960s and carries 65% of the water from Lake Fort Smith.
There are five phases to build the 48-inch transmission line. The first phase of 6 miles has been completed. The second phase length is 12.3 miles in Crawford County and the design work is complete. Phase 3 is 8.9 miles in Crawford County and design is 95% complete. Phase 4 is 2.1 miles and would cross the Arkansas River near where Interstate 49 bridge that is now under construction north of Barling. The line under the Arkansas River would be separated into two 36-inch lines for redundancy and for engineering purposes, McAvoy said.
Phase 5 is 4.2 miles and would extend from the Arkansas River crossing near Barling and extend into the southeast part of Fort Smith. The city received $12 million in federal funds for a 3-mile section of phase 2, with the city providing a $3 million match.
“The 48-inch transmission line is designed to provide water to the eastside of Fort Smith and (will) serve as redundant means of conveying water into Fort Smith,” McAvoy noted in a memo on the work. “The two lines that currently supply water into Fort Smith were installed in the 1950s and early 1960s. The amount of water that can be delivered through those lines is at the maximum.”
When complete, the new 33.56-mile line will carry 67% of all water from Lake Fort Smith. There is now no funding available nor funding source identified for phases 2-5. Following are the estimated costs for the remaining phases of the transmission line.
Phase 2a: $15 million
Phase 2b: $45 million to $60 million
Phase 3: $28 million to $50 million
Phase 4: $25 million to $50 million
Phase 5: $25 million to $50 million
“Again, it’s a range and not a solid dollar amount because construction costs change,” McAvoy told the board during Tuesday’s study session.
The total funding range for the 48-inch transmission line is between $148 million and $225 million, according to McAvoy.
TREATMENT PLANT
The city’s Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment plant in Mountainburg was built in 1936, upgraded in 1963, with the last “major” renovation and upgrade completed in 2012. The plant produced 71% of water in the system in 2024, with the Lake Fort Smith transmission line’s maximum pumping capacity being 40 million gallons a day (MGD).
However, to get a sustained 40 MGD, the system is operated beyond its original design, McAvoy said.
Estimated cost for a 15 MGD is between $90 million and $180 million, and the cost for a 30 MGD is between $180 million and $360 million, McAvoy said.
“The water treatment plants are running near their maximum capacity during the summer months,” McAvoy wrote in the memo. “Although Lake Fort Smith has plenty of water, the last upgrade to the Lake Fort Smith Treatment Plant was nineteen (19) years ago. Over the last two decades, since the last capacity upgrade was completed, the demand for water has grown.”
McVoy said the water treatment plant at the Lee Creek Reservoir is limited in the amount of water it can supply during the summer months in order to prevent the reservoir from dropping to levels below which water can be collected.
The cost for what McAvoy said are “necessary” capacity upgrades to the Lake Fort Smith treatment operation ranges between $180 million to $360 million. McAvoy said he was able to use recent work at Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas to get “pretty good numbers” on the cost estimates.
McAvoy said if all the money was available for the transmission line and treatment plant upgrade, the work would take 6 to 8 years to complete.
Mayor George McGill suggested the board conduct a study session devoted entirely to an in-depth discussion about the funding options for the work.