Fayetteville hears technical review of quarry blasting and risks to Winchester Highway water tank; land-sale proposal moved toward council

Fayetteville officials discussed potential operational and economic risks tied to the city’s 500,000‑gallon industrial park water tank at a work session Thursday, and heard a consultant say routine quarry blasting nearby is unlikely to harm the concrete structure if monitoring and mitigation are used.

The city introduced an information item on a proposed sale or partial conveyance of property around the Winchester Highway water tank; the board referred the proposal to the regular council meeting for formal action. City and utility staff flagged contingencies and asked for further detail before any transfer.

Mr. Thomas, speaking for Fayetteville Public Utilities (FPU), said the concrete ground‑level tank was built in 1977 and is operated within a typical service range. He described how the pump station fills the tank at roughly 150 gallons per minute and said the tank supplies a large industrial customer cluster that accounts for significant monthly revenue: "…that's over $600,000 a month in revenue if they're not…