Glenwood is one step closer to beginning a long-planned upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Mayor Billy Plyler signed paperwork on June 30 for the city to receive a federal grant of about $500,000 to replace the plant’s chlorine disinfection system with ultraviolet light technology.
The plant discharges water into a creek that eventually flows into the Caddo River. Unlike chlorine, ultraviolet light disinfects wastewater without leaving chemical residuals that can harm aquatic life. Given the importance of the river to the city’s tourism-based economy, city leaders agree it must be protected.
The grant paperwork must now be approved by the state, which is a formality at this point, before the city can move forward with an engineering study. Once that is completed, the project will be advertised for bids from contractors.
He estimated it will be six to nine months before construction can begin at the treatment plant which is located on the south side of U.S. 70 near a livestock market.
The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program, which helps cities and towns pay for infrastructure improvements. Glenwood qualified for the grant because it meets the program’s low-to-moderate income requirements. In Arkansas, grants for cities with populations under 50,000 are administered by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
AEDC Grants Manager Matthew Smith met with Plyler and city staff at City Hall to review the grant requirements, including bidding procedures, contractor selection, financial recordkeeping and deadlines for spending the funds.
Smith will need to approve key steps throughout the process before grant money can be released. Even if the project proceeds without delays, he said the city is not expected to receive funding until sometime in 2027.
The wastewater project is one of three major infrastructure improvements being done in Glenwood. A $4 million project to dig up and replace much of the city’s aging sewer system began in May, while a plan for a $3.5 million expansion and upgrade of the city’s water treatment plant has been submitted to the state for approval.
Smith warned city officials that federal regulations require an audit when a municipality spends $1 million or more in federal grant funds during a single fiscal year. Plyler told city staff they should be prepared for that possibility.
“I don’t have a problem with it, but we’ll hit that,” Plyler said. “Over the next few years we’re gonna have over $8 million worth of work done.”
He said installing the ultraviolet disinfection system should not interrupt wastewater treatment. The plant has two contact chambers, allowing one chamber to remain in service using chlorine while the ultraviolet equipment is installed in the other.
Following the meeting, Smith told The Glenwood Herald that the city’s situation reflects a broader challenge facing communities across Arkansas that have aging water and sewer infrastructures with many being more than a century old.
“It’s really kind of sad how poor the overall state of water and wastewater is in Arkansas,” Smith said. “So it’s not unique to have problems, but that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Although grant programs provide assistance, Smith said the need for infrastructure improvements exceeds the funding available.
“There’s more need out there than we can do, so we chip away at it every year,” he said.
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