A subdivision discharging treated wastewater into upper Lake Hamilton is out of compliance with its state-issued permit after reporting numerous effluent violations since 2012.
Westwood Village off Albert Pike Road is permitted to discharge wastewater treated at a small sewer plant into an inlet south of the Highway 270 west bridge. According to the consent order the subdivision's property owners association entered into with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality in October 2017, 124 effluent violations were self-reported from August 2014 to July 2017, including 31 for elevated concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria.
The plant's operator submitted noncompliance reports for elevated effluent levels in April, May, June, August, September and December of last year. The elevated values included excess concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria, total suspended solids and ammonia nitrogen.
ADEQ said the subdivision paid a $3,950 fine but remains out of compliance with its permit. The Feb. 8 deadline for correcting problems outlined in the order was not met, ADEQ said, and progress reports for the final three quarters of 2018 have yet to be submitted.
"ADEQ is assessing what steps may be taken next in the enforcement process, which could include submitting a notice of violation to the Office of Law and Policy," the agency said in an email.
The reconstituted Westwood Village Sewer Facilities Board the Garland County Quorum Court approved earlier this week plans to meet Monday, said Carl Foshee, one of five board members the quorum court appointed at its Feb. 11 meeting. The county created the board in 2010, but it's been inactive since the lone remaining member moved last year. Foshee said the POA is the board's only customer, and that the board leases the site for the package sewer plant from the POA.
The corrective action plan an engineer submitted on behalf of the POA in 2017 said the plant is old but capable of meeting permit mandates if more stormwater could be kept out of the collection system. The permit said the plant is rated to treat up to 20,000 gallons a day. The corrective action plan recommended adding a surge tank for higher flows caused by large rain events.
Reports ADEQ issued after inspections in 2015 and 2017 noted high flows led to the sand-filtration system being bypassed, allowing unfiltered flow to enter the lake.
Citing its own issues with stormwater infiltration, the city of Hot Springs has twice denied the subdivision's request to connect to the city's regional sewer system. The February 2017 letter the city sent Westwood Village said the subdivision's stormwater problems would only add to sewer system overflows that have put the city under its own ADEQ consent order.
The city's request for release from the order is pending.
Foshee and County Judge Darryl Mahoney said the POA would like to move its outfall off the lake, possibly to an area farther out in the watershed.
Lakeside Gardens
A POA discharging treated wastewater on the other side of upper Lake Hamilton is also out of compliance with its permit.
The June 29 letter ADEQ sent Lakeside Gardens Condominiums at 5201 Albert Pike Road noted 25 violations from June 1, 2015, to May 31 of last year, including fecal coliform concentrations that exceeded permitted levels by 76 percent in July 2017.
The corrective action plan an engineer submitted on behalf of the POA in August said permitted effluent levels could be met by the end of 2018, but it's unclear if the POA satisfied the Jan. 31 deadline for certifying the corrections.
According to the plan, the extended aeration activated sludge plant was first permitted in 2006 and is rated to treat up to 10,000 gallons a day. Aeration introduces oxygen that aids in the growth of bacteria that breaks down sewage.
Local on 02/16/2019