2 2020
December 30, 2020
THE POLK COUNTY
Pulse
Mena wastewater gets new treatment Changes have been made to the way Mena Water Utilities treats wastewater and continued progress is underway. For many years, treating waste water with chlorine was the standard operation across the country but now, Charles Pitman, general manager for Mena Water, says that has changed. “The EPA learned that chlorine is not as safe as it was once thought,” Pitman said. “We were using it because that what was always used and was common practice. It was great because it was inexpensive.” Changing to a new way of treating water will not be as cost effective, Pitman said, noting the new chemical is peracetic acid. “It replaces chlorine gas which we were spending less than $2,000 a year to purchase,” Pitman said, noting the new chemical is forecast to cost $3,000. The added cost of treating water to EPA standards, it is expected to be reflected in rate increases, though not immediately. Pitman said to raise rates,
audits are performed to insure rates are not raised extraneously. Limits are also set on how much utilities can charge based on area household income, which is why Pitman is reminding people to fill out the census. “There won’t be an immediate increase on customer’s bills but eventually the direct costs to treat wastewater will increase,” Pitman said. “On the plus side, it was easy set up and easy to operate.” Because the current wastewater plant was build with the use of chlorine in mind, it will not be able to be used for the new process, and a new plant will be built. The project is expected to cost $15 million and includes a new plant and line repairs. Pitman said test of the new process have already begun. “The trial start wasn’t without it’s hiccups but we believe that we have everything up and running good now,” Pitman said. The preliminary lab results are promising.
Reserve funds to pave way for road repair Flash flooding in late August and early September caused considerable damage to county roads, bridges and property. County Judge Brandon Ellison said though some repairs have been made, work lays ahead. “We had about $350,000 of verifiable damage,” Ellison said. “There was much more damage that is not quantifiable, such as gravel loss, partially plugged bridges and culverts, weakened road shoulders, etc.” Ellison praised crews who have worked swiftly and diligently to tend to the jobs. “The repairs are going well and we have worked some overtime. The larger damage sites are finished, all routes are open now and we are working on the numerous smaller sites,” he said. “We had 79 sites that I consider significantly damaged. Of those, 30 sites were severely damaged. The basement of the courthouse was also flooded
during this event. According to our long serving maintenance man, he had never experienced this occurrence in 20 plus years.” With the added cost of materials, overtime and other expenses, Ellison said the flooding damages are costly. “Of course the budget is impacted in these situations, however I have learned to expect catastrophes. So, I plan ahead to keep some funds in reserve for disasters,” he said. Ellison was able to have Polk County declared a flood disaster and requested state assistance.” If approved, the state would reimburse 35% of eligible work. “The state is pretty restrictive on what work they deem eligible. If approved, I don’t expect to receive more than $50,000. I have met with our representative from ADEM (Arkansas Department of Emergency Management) and conducted field work and compiled documentation to make our case.”
The Polk County Fair & Rodeo Association 479.394.4248
104 Port Arthur Ave. Mena, AR 71953-3344
will hold their annual membership/officer election meeting Monday January 4, 2021 at 6pm in the Association meeting room. This meeting is open to the public.
