Aging water systems leave rural Arkansas towns struggling to keep taps flowing

EUDORA, Ark. (KATV) — Eight miles from the Louisiana border and eight miles from the Mississippi River, the city of Eudora is confronting a problem familiar to many small towns across Arkansas: an aging water system pushed well beyond its expected lifespan.

Residents in the Delta town of about 2,000 people say problems with the city’s tap water have persisted for years. Recently, the water ran brown again.

“It was dirty,” resident Lacoyia Bynum said. “You can’t drink out of it. You can’t take bath.”

Small towns across Arkansas are facing the same issue: an aging water system pushed well beyond its expected lifespan. (Photo Jack Streeter)

Mayor Tomeka Butler said the issues have been around since she was a kid.

“It’s hard to cook with the water because it leaves rings around your dishes,” Butler said. “Washing your vehicles, it leaves white spots in your vehicles. It kills the grass, turns the white clothes brown.”

Jimmy Hargis, contract operator for the Eudora Water Department, said a lightning strike triggered the latest failure.

“The lightning knocked out all of our controls,” said Hargis. “Made the system go kapooey.”

Hargis also said Eudora’s water issues go back decades. The city’s water system was built about 70 years ago, and it is operating on borrowed time.

Works until it falls apart, and that’s the way it’s been.

Fixing the city’s water problems was a central part of Butler’s mayoral campaign. With the help of federal grants, the city is rehabilitating three water tanks, replacing water lines and has completed a new well.

The city of Eudora has been approved for two reimbursement programs through the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. The funds are only disbursed to the city when eligible invoices are provided.

• Water Tank Rehab and New Water Well funding: $1,575,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant (approximately 2.9% disbursed and co-funded with USDA-Rural Development)
• Water System Improvements Phase II funding: $1,630,211.00 loan with principal forgiveness (100% disbursed); $543,404.00 loan (100% disbursed); $2,182,272.00 ARPA grant (89% disbursed)

“She’s doing the best she can,” Hargis said. “She’s done the best that I’ve ever seen.”

Eudora’s challenges reflect a broader issue for rural communities across the Delta. As populations decline, small towns have fewer ratepayers to cover the cost of maintaining and operating water systems. Many communities also struggle to afford full-time licensed operators.

“Little systems don’t have $70,000 to pay a person,” Hargis said.

The Arkansas Rural Water Association, a nonprofit that assists small water systems, spent more than a week in Eudora helping get the system back up and running. City officials said the work saved Eudora at least $50,000.

Eudora’s water is running clear after the repairs, but local officials said the larger issue remains: The system is old, expensive to maintain and difficult to replace without outside help.

Chris Harris, CEO of the Arkansas Rural Water Association, said inflation has made infrastructure projects even harder for small communities to afford.

“It’s costing a lot more money to put infrastructure in today than it did when it was initially put in,” Harris said. “And systems just can’t hardly bear the cost by theirselves.”

Hargis said Eudora needs money to replace infrastructure that has long outlived its expected use.

“We can’t get money to replace this ancient system,” he said.

Butler said more funding is needed for small rural water systems like Eudora’s.

We desperately need more funding that’s available for small rural water systems

Harris said the need across Arkansas far exceeds the amount of grant funding available.

“In the state of Arkansas, we’ve got billions of dollars in need, and we don’t have billions of dollars in grant funding,” Harris said. City officials said that without outside funding, it is only a matter of time before Eudora’s worn-out water infrastructure fails again.

The ongoing improvement projects are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Arkansas Dept. of Agriculture currently administers the following programs:

State

• Water Development Fund
• Water, Sewer, and Solid Waste Fund
• General Obligation Bond Program
• Water and Sewer Treatment Facilities Matching Grant Program

Federal (EPA)

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
• Emerging Contaminants in Small and Disadvantaged Communities
• Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities
• Sanitary Sewer Overflow and Storm Water Reuse

Other federal financing opportunities are given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Delta Regional Authority.

Also, non-profits such as Communities Unlimited, Arkansas Rural Water Association, and Water Finance Exchange offer loans.