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Lawmakers and utilities press for clear Arkansas ARPA process as water projects face rising costs and long lead times
Summary
Utilities, engineers and local mayors told the Senate City, County & Local Affairs Committee that Arkansas has roughly $5 billion in water and wastewater needs, that many projects are shovel‑ready but stalled for lack of state guidance on ARPA allocation, and that inflation and long equipment lead times threaten completion before federal deadlines.
Committee chair opened a hearing on statewide water and wastewater needs, emphasizing that reliable drinking water and functioning wastewater systems are critical to public health and economic growth. Witnesses from utilities, engineering firms and the Department of Agriculture outlined a broad need and urged a simple, transparent process for allocating federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to water projects.
West Ward, Natural Resources Director at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, said the department’s working group collected more than 1,400 submissions and mapped “around $5,000,000,000” in statewide needs, and described a plan to reopen a targeted ARPA application period once the steering committee names a dollar figure and final criteria. “We took those submissions, put it on a map, and it's the entire state,” Ward said, summarizing the geographic spread of requests.
Industry witnesses and municipal managers told the committee many projects are technically shovel‑ready but face…
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