Water utilities director: Fort Smith completed assessments, progress on sewer consent decree but work continues

Fort Smith's water utilities director told the Board of Directors Tuesday that the city has completed the sanitary sewer assessments required by its consent decree, made measurable repairs in 2024, and is preparing a bond-financed construction program to address remaining capacity and structural defects.

"We are not in compliance with the Clean Water Act," Lance McEvoy, Director of Water Utilities, told the board as he opened a multi-part presentation on the consent decree, its history and the city's 2024 annual report to EPA, the Department of Justice and the state of Arkansas. McEvoy described the decree as an agreement among the city, EPA, DOJ and the state to reduce sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and bring the system into compliance.

McEvoy said the utility completed the initial sanitary-sewer-assessment work called for by the decree in 2024 after delays related to COVID-19. For 2024 he reported: 84.33 miles of pipe assessed (the city's entire system is about 535 miles), 2,139 manhole assessments completed last year, 45,270 linear feet of pipe replaced, repaired or…