In Hot Springs, a water supply project more than a decade in the making is nearing completion. Geared toward ensuring an adequate water supply that not only meets local needs but attracts businesses to the area, the project will include an additional water plant that draws water from Lake Ouachita and is set to be complete by the end of 2025.
Bill Burrough, Hot Springs city manager
“The amount of planning and work that’s gone into this project for not just me personally, but for everyone that’s been part of it in the city, we’re very proud of it,” said Bill Burrough, city manager. “It’s been something that will be here long after we’re gone, so anytime you’re able to work on a project like this, you’re truly leaving a legacy behind.”
It took at least 10 years to have Lake Ouachita reallocated as a provider of potable water, an effort the city undertook with the assistance of the Mid-Arkansas Water Alliance, he added.
Previously, the city had two water sources. A plant at Lake Rix, a privately owned city lake in Hot Springs, can draw 5 million gallons of water from the lake a day, he said, and the so-called “Lake Ouachita” plant, which actually draws water from Lake Hamilton, can bring in 20 million gallons of water a day.
A rendering of the finished water plant in Hot Springs.
Accounting for the water needed for processing, the city was able to produce 23 million gallons of water a day, Burrough said.
“I don’t think we can sustain that over a long period of time, and there were times we were exceeding 80 percent of our water supply capabilities,” he said. “Really, once you get that 80-percent threshold with your peak demand, you need to start looking for additional water supply, and that’s really what started us down this path.”
In 2012, the water system exceeded the threshold 56 times, he said. Since then, wetter, cooler summers have reduced water demand, but there are no guarantees when it comes to weather. Meanwhile, the amount of water system users in Hot Springs and Garland County grows by about 1 percent a year, he said.
“This particular project is the largest infrastructure project in our city’s history,” he added. “I think history will be kind to the board of directors that currently sit, as well as those previously that served and made the decision to move forward with this plan.”
The $150 million project includes four components: the intake site that draws water from the lake, lines that transport untreated water to the treatment plant, the water treatment plant and lines that transport treated water from the plant to the water system.
“The intake itself is something that we’re very proud of,” Burrough said. “That was a project that’s not been done in North America in the past.”
The city drilled a half-mile through Blakely Mountain to install a 60-inch diameter casing pipe and connect to Lake Ouachita at such a depth that the head pressure of the lake feeds the water into the pipe without the need for pumping.
“That’s going to save, really, a lifetime of costs when it comes to that endeavor,” he said.
Other feats of engineering included boring beneath Lake Hamilton in the Big Mazarn Creek area and crossing the main channel using a float-and-sink method in which the pipe was constructed on land, connected to the other side of the lake, sunk and held to the bottom of the lake.
“There’s been float-and-sinks but I don’t think to the magnitude of what we’re doing,” he said. “When we crossed under and bored under the lake, I don’t think that’s been done in Arkansas in the past with a line and length of what we have.”
The new 1,720-square-foot plant will produce 15 million gallons of water a day, he said, and situated on a 40-acre parcel of land, there is plenty of room to build a second plant in the future.
“We’re in a good position to build a second plant when the time comes,” he said. “This 15 million gallons a day, though, is going to take us for, you know, several decades before we’ll need to build another plant.”
One of the plant’s more unique aspects is that it will be fully enclosed, so the water will be protected from the elements. From the outside, the plant will not look like a typical water treatment plant. City officials decided to style the building as a barn.
“There’s a lot of pastureland out there, so it won’t be an intrusive building that looks out of place,” Burrough said. “It will be large, but it’s going to look like a large, red barn.”
As other communities in Arkansas experience water supply problems, the project will make Hot Springs attractive to water-intensive businesses, Burrough said.
“This is going to put us in a very good position for the future, not only for our residents and visitors, but for the business community because we will be one of those cities that does have not only ample water supply, but enough capacity to support industry,” he said.
Ensuring the taps flow freely for Hot Springs residents, businesses and visitors will help ensure the city’s success for generations to come, he added.
“We’re very proud of where we are,” he said. “We’ve already accomplished those milestones, and now it’s a matter of just finishing the finished water lines and finishing the plant. This is something, though, that what we do today, our grandkids will benefit from, as well as those who currently live and play in Hot Springs.”
Feature image: A new water treatment plant will provide Hot Springs with water from Lake Ouachita.
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