Water pressure : City, neighbors trying to reach compromise on tower site
Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008
ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times The city of Fayetteville has plans to construct a water tower at 1080 N. Canterbury Road to address the issue of low water pressure, which inhibits firefighting atop the mountain.
A water tank proposed for the top of Hyland Park Hill in Fayetteville is expected to improve the water pressure for area residents while also ensuring that the area has adequate fire protection. Yet many neighbors are adamantly opposed to it.
It's not the actual tank they're opposed to but the city's chosen location for the tank on Canterbury Drive, in close proximity to several homes, particularly the home of Jim Waselues.
The proposal would position the tower directly in front of his home.
"We have a lot to lose," Waselues said. "The value of our home would go to nothing."
The property in question has been maintained by the Hyland Park Property Association for more than 30 years. While the city claims ownership of the property and has been paying taxes on it, the property owners believe the lot was never deeded to the city.
City Attorney Kit Williams maintains that the city does in fact own the property, claiming that a note on the plat "clearly appropriates Lot 22 for a water tower and property of the city of Fayetteville."
Regardless of the varying opinions regarding ownership of the land, neighbors have asked the city to reconsider putting a water tower on the property.
Bill Clark, a resident of Canterbury Drive, said putting a water tower there would be like "taking a water tower and putting it at the entrance to Candlewood (subdivision )."
Doug Kuntz, also a resident of Canterbury Drive, urged the city to "do the right thing"and choose an alternative site. "A lot of people spent a lot of time and effort making that one of the most livable places in Fayetteville," he said at a Water and Sewer Committee meeting in June. "A water tower is not particularly something I'm looking forward to seeing out of my front porch. "Kuntz said the neighborhood is opposed to the site because of the impact it would have on their property values. "I'm not an engineer so I have no knowledge of need or no need, but any time you try to put a water tower in a neighborhood, I just think that's unacceptable," he said. The committee will hold a meeting Thursday with the property owners in Hyland Park Phase II, as well as all of the residents in the Mount Sequoyah pressure plane, to discuss the need for a water tower and the potential sites.
The need Jurgens said the need for a water tank was identified in 1974 and again in the water master plan in 1988. "That's why the lot was dedicated for a water tower," he said. "We tried to do it 15 to 17 years ago but there was enough public outcry that the decision was made to simply try to put a pump system in."
The pump system is not providing enough pressure, however. Jurgens said the pump system cannot provide adequate pressure or flow to the areas of Mount Sequoyah, Hillcrest, Rockwood, Applebury, Ridgeway, Hyland Park and Canterbury.
"During peak demand, it doesn't provide enough even for our domestic needs," he said.
In a letter to the city dated April 7, 2008, the Arkansas Department of Health said the current water storage of 250, 000 gallons is about 25 percent of what is needed.
"The Mount Sequoyah area does not have adequate storage for the water demand in the area and the city needs to address the situation," the letter states.
The general fire protection need is 1, 500 gallons per minute for a normal structure fire. At this time, Jurgens said, fewer than 5 percent of the hydrants in the area can meet that requirement.
He's proposing a water storage tank that would hold approximately 500, 000 gallons of water to meet regulatory standards and water demand requirements during hot weather. Jurgens said he has a responsibility to make sure the area has adequate water pressure for fire protection. "I have to do something," he said. "I have to solve the problem. I'm morally and ethically obligated to do that."
Elevation is key According to Jurgens, there are 14 water tanks in the city, many of them in residential neighborhoods. There is one on the top of Township Hill, he said, across the street from residences. There are two on North Street, four or five blocks east of College Avenue plus the one on top of Mount Sequoyah, which is a few hundred feet from a residence. When it comes to choosing a location for a water tower, elevation is the driving force. The elevation of the new water tower has to match the elevation of the existing water tower, Jurgens said, which is 1815 feet above sea level.
The tank will service the hilltop area, he said, and has to meet certain elevation requirements in order to provide adequate water pressure and match the pressure provided by the existing tank on the top of Mount Sequoyah.
Four sites have been identified by McClelland Engineers as possible locations in a preliminary engineering report: the site in Hyland Park Phase II, a site on Skyline Drive by the existing tank, a site at the south end of Crest Drive off Rockwood Trail and a site behind the Hyland Park Phase II tennis courts.
The Hyland Park Phase II sites are the best sites, Jurgens said, because they place the storage closer to both the water pump stations that would fill the tanks and to the points of demand.
The two sites on Mount Sequoyah, he said, would require $ 1 million worth of additional pipe work to get enough water pressure to Hyland Park Hill.
Jurgens said he'd be happy if the city and the residents of Hyland Park Phase II could agree on an alternative site. He'd prefer to build the water tank behind the tennis courts, he said, where it would be somewhat less visible, although it would still be in "someone's back yard."
"The problem is (the city ) owns the other lot," he said. "If we could come up with some sort of compromise, I'd be a happy camper."
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
