TO: Arkansas Natural Resources Director, Chris Colclasure
PETITIONERS STATE:
We the undersigned hereby petition the Director of Arkansas Natural Resources to deny approval of the CAW/WMWA request for Service Area Expansion for water in Pulaski and Perry Counties. A majority of the proposed water service expansion area, consisting of 4,445 acres or 6.95 square miles, belongs to two developers who initiated the CAW/WMWA request according to a Central Arkansas Water “CAW” official at the June 24, 2024 public hearing. One of the developers who owns developments in this area (Paradise Valley, Roland; Waterview Estates, Roland; Lakeview West, Wye) has a history of enforcement issues with state and federal agencies.
The main reasons we oppose the CAW/WMWA service area expansion for water service are as follows:
· Mill Bayou, a Water of the United States (WOTUS) and ecologically sensitive area consisting of intermittent, ephemeral, and wetland areas, flows through developer property south of Ross Hollow Road and serves as a recharge area for Maumelle Water Corporation’s three (3) drinking water wells serving nearly 1,100 customers in Roland. This developer’s history is viewed by locals as a threat to this area’s most precious resource.
· The purpose of the project is to supply water, mainly, to two (2) developers, and any other voluntary connections are secondary to this purpose, and was not initiated by a community of people in the area but two (2) developers collectively owning a majority of the property proposed to be served.
· Some residents living in the proposed service area expansion were not notified and missed the opportunity to attend the public hearing on June 24, 2024.
· The fees for voluntary connection may be burdensome to the local residents who didn’t initiate the request for service further highlighting the purpose is mainly to supply water to two (2) developers.
· When the CAW/WMWA merger was completed, the customers have been paying off a debt for the improvements. The developers would be enjoying a keen advantage making possible their new water service at current CAW customers’ expense.
· The benefits from this project would be mostly for two (2) developers who own a majority of the acreage in the new service area.
· The project is not absolutely necessary, considering it is developers who initiated the request and developers who own most of the land in the proposed service area, as they can still develop their properties using septic systems on larger lots which is characteristic of this area.
· This project will make possible sewage treatment plants. One of the developers has a bad track record for maintaining and sizing an expanding Watervew Estates development in Roland which has exceeded capacity.
· This project will make possible high density “leap frog” developments. Paradise Valley, a proposed development in Roland, will burden the local community that lacks the infrastructure to support it. Such developments negatively impact property values, increase flooding, increase traffic on narrow and unlit Highway 300, and negatively impact local natural resources and drinking water wells. People move to this rural area for a reason.
· This project will introduce a threat to the local resources and pristine Mill Bayou. One of the developers has a known history of not making environmental matters a priority: Paradise Valley has a Clean Water Act violation with the USACE 2024.
· The project area is outside the CAW Watershed. Package sewage plants are banned in the CAW Watershed. CAW will be suppling water to developers in another watershed where sewage treatment plants are not currently banned making it someone else’s responsibility to police, namely Maumelle Water Corporation and the local residents.