Hot Springs approves $3.7 million-plus in wastewater contracts tied to ADEQ consent order

The Hot Springs Board of Directors on June 17 approved several contract awards for wastewater system upgrades tied to Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality requirements and the city’s 2025 wastewater bond program.

The board awarded Schedule 1 of the Spring Street gravity sewer project to Boyles Construction for $3,155,462.70 (Resolution R-25-125) and approved Schedule 2 and 3 awards to Diamond Construction with combined totals that bring the larger Spring Street work to a multi-million-dollar program (Resolution R-25-126). The projects are part of ADEQ’s Consent Administrative Order CAO LIS22-077, city staff said.

“Staff recommends awarding the bid received on May 12 to Boyle's Construction ... for schedule 1 of the Spring Street gravity sewer project ... in the amount of $3,155,462.70,” engineering project staff reported. Joey Stadler, engineering assistant/project manager, told the board schedule 1 includes approximately 1,400 feet of 15-inch PVC, 1,100 feet of 16-inch HDPE, and 2,600 feet of 18-inch pipe in corresponding materials and noted the project will be funded by the board-approved 2025 wastewater bonds.

Diamond Construction was the sole responsive bidder on schedules 2 and 3; Todd Pillar and project staff described Schedule 2 and 3 scopes to the board, which include open-cut sections, a 24-inch encased jack and bore segment and pipe-burst work. The combined bid totals for schedules 2 and 3 resulted in a larger program award; board packets contained certified bid tabs and letters of recommendation from staff.

The board also approved KJAX Contractors to replace a 36-inch reinforced-concrete outfall with a new 54-inch fiberglass outfall from the Davidson Drive wastewater treatment plant to Lake Catherine, plus a Lake Catherine diffuser (Resolution R-25-127). Project manager Todd Pillar called it a replacement to “match for the water flows” and said the award must be in place to coordinate with the lake drawdown scheduled to begin Nov. 1; the lowest responsive bidder’s contract total was $5,775,000 and will be funded from the 2025 wastewater bond program.

Separately, the board authorized a sanitary-sewer evaluation survey (sometimes called an SSIS study) performed by RJN Group with an authorization not to exceed $1,554,900 (Resolution R-25-128). Todd Pillar said the study will inspect manholes, perform smoke testing, dye testing, CCTV pipe inspections, flow monitoring and other work across eight basins to help prioritize repairs and replacements required under ADEQ oversight. Staff noted they had budgeted $1,565,000 in the 2025 wastewater bond fund for the study.

Schedule and procurement details

Stadler told the board schedule 1 has a 210-day completion term; schedules 2 and 3 have 90 and 130 days respectively, with schedules designed to run concurrently where possible. The Spring Street contracts came through certified bid tabs included in the meeting packet; staff said Boyles was the lowest responsive bidder for schedule 1 by approximately $743,652 compared with the other bidder evaluated.

All resolutions were approved by roll-call votes with board members voting aye across the items. Directors and staff indicated the awards and the sanitary sewer survey implement the city’s obligations under ADEQ's consent administrative order and are funded from bond proceeds the board previously approved.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke at the June 17, 2025 Hot Springs City Board of Directors meeting.