The Story
The Fort Smith, Arkansas Board of Directors voted 5-0 on Tuesday to table a $2,474,000 agreement with Arcadis to manage the city's sewer consent decree work, pushing the decision to its Nov. 2 meeting, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Residents and some board members questioned the cost, whether the firm would be paid for work city staff already does, and whether the scope was too broad.
The city entered the consent decree with the Justice Department, the EPA and the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality in 2015 and agreed to spend more than $200 million over 12 years on collection and treatment upgrades, the paper reported. The original deadline of Jan. 2, 2027 was extended in July to June 30, 2038.
According to a city engineering memo cited by the Democrat-Gazette, all required sewer assessments are complete, 264,685 feet of pipe and 1,540 manholes have been repaired, replaced or put under contract, and design for another 117,990 feet of pipe and 567 manholes is nearly done and will go to bid over the next six months.
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fort Smith Board of Directors tables nearly $2.5 million agreement with Arcadis to oversee consent decree projects, October 21, 2026
The infraTerra Take
Our recommendation for Florida utilities under FDEP consent orders or federal decrees is simple. Decide how you will manage the rehab phase before the bid wave arrives, and write the program manager's scope tightly enough to survive a public vote. Fort Smith had its assessments done and its next round of design nearly finished, and the management contract still stalled on cost and scope questions.
The bigger lesson is the timeline. A 12-year program that started in 2015 now runs to 2038. Condition assessment is the fast part. Pipe and manhole rehab, one bid package at a time, is where schedules slip. That rehab is also where I&I reduction is won or lost, and a program that fixes mains and manholes but ignores private laterals can leave real infiltration in place. Our report on why private pipe is a public problem covers that gap.
For contractors, 117,990 feet of pipe and 567 manholes going to bid within six months in one mid-size city is a reminder to track consent decree cities closely. Decree work tends to come out in waves, so Florida contractors who line up crews and liner supply early are in the best position.
For ratepayers, the Fort Smith debate is a healthy one. Consent decree money comes from sewer bills, and residents asking what an outside manager adds over existing staff is exactly the scrutiny Florida commissions should expect and welcome.
What to Watch
- Fort Smith board vote on the tabled Arcadis agreement at its Nov. 2 meeting
- Bid release for the 117,990 feet of pipe and 567 manholes now in final design
- Whether Fort Smith narrows the program manager scope or cost before the next vote
