Water and Sewer: Critical Infrastructure Aspects for Economic Development

Streets, drainage, public safety, animal services, and other municipal services are indeed important to both the operations of a community, along with the attraction and retention of economic development.

With that being the cases, there are however, two critical components to our city’s infrastructure that are an absolute necessity in the attraction and retention of economic development and these being the community’s capability to produce fresh drinking water supply that is uninterrupted and the capacity to treat wastewater without over burdening the treatment process.

Let us deal with fresh drinking water. First, water is a commodity that is distributed on the wholesale level by a producer. In our county we have one producer currently, and that is Benton utilities. This utility supplies water for the city of Benton, southwest water users, and Salem water.

The city of Bryant receives its water from Central Arkansas water. This makes the city of Bryant a two-pronged operation in that the city purchases in a retail fashion but on a wholesale rate. In return the city sells the water that they purchase back to the consumer within the city limits of Bryant. Bryant water maintains all the infrastructure within the system that it manages.

There is a project currently underway within the county that is to develop a regional water supply and producer that will lessen the dependability that the city of Bryant has on Central Arkansas water. The saline Regional Water authority project is of the utmost importance for our community and our county. Coupled with Benton utilities, this project would make this supply of fresh drinking water within our county much more feasible.

Whether you are dealing with residential rooftops or commercial businesses, the uninterrupted supply of fresh drinking water at an affordable rate is essential. Residential rooftops along with the commercial businesses purchase the commodity that helps put funds back into the system for maintenance and operations. Certain commercial and even industrial developments require a certain number of gallons of fresh water to operate. It is essential that the city be able to provide the necessary amounts of fresh water for businesses or industries to be able to operate.

Once the supply of fresh water and its availability has been addressed, we must also keep in mind affordable rates. The affordability of fresh drinking water is crucial as well. Therefore, the producer of this commodity is just as equally important. Residents must keep in mind that rates, in accordance with state law, must be adjusted every five years to provide the funds necessary for the operations, material supplies, and infrastructure updates to the city’s water system.

This brings us to the second aspect of our discussion period and that is the treatment of wastewater. Oftentimes residents take for granted as we flush our commode, take a shower, wash our dishes, and even wash our hands before a meal at a local restaurant; That water must be treated before it is released back into the environment.

This is a costly process and is just as equally scrutinized and tested as producing fresh drinking water. However, when it comes to economic development, the availability of wastewater treatment is not often as accessible as fresh water.

The city can have commercial property zoned and a certain part of our city, as we do now here in Bryant, which would be the perfect location for a grocery store, a gas station, and even perhaps a restaurant. But, not having the availability of wastewater treatment, in other words city sewer, could very well potentially hinder that commercial development.

When a commercial or even an industrial project is put in a position that they must secure their own wastewater treatment infrastructure, it drives up the cost of that commercial or industrial development perhaps to the point that it becomes unfeasible to develop. Therefore, the city loses out on the sales tax base that commercial development or industry would produce for the city.

It is essential that communities look at both fresh water and wastewater infrastructure as an investment in their community to attract residential rooftops, commercial businesses, and even industrial projects.

The return on the investment is generational. When a city makes the infrastructure investment to supply water and wastewater services to a particular area, it must be done so with immediate plans for development to gain a return. While there are opportunities to partner with a developer to help offset the cost of these two types of infrastructure placements. I would caution a city not to be completely dependent upon the developer to incur the cost fully, for these infrastructure developments.

Again, the city must look at these types of infrastructure installments as an investment in the community to attract residential rooftops, commercial businesses, and industrial projects. The return to the community is indeed generational by creating fresh and reoccurring sales tax revenue. In return this reoccurring sales tax revenue will pay for the infrastructure installments as well as having a positive impact upon other municipal services and functions.

When the city makes fresh water and wastewater infrastructure a priority in both maintaining current services and infrastructure along with the expansion of current services and infrastructure; the city is investing in its economic future in a responsible and proper manner.