Civil Engineering

(501) 776-5900

Benton Utilities Civil Engineering Department

Dwayne Hood One of the newer depts. at Benton Utilities is the Civil Engineering Dept. The Construction Manager and Utilities inspector work closely with outside engineering firms dealing with the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the utilities infrastructure. They deal primarily with the water distribution and purification as well as the wastewater collections and wastewater treatment plants.

The Construction Manager for Benton Utilities is Dewayne Hood; he came to work here in 2006 having worked for an engineering firm prior to coming to work here.

One of many duties of our department includes periodic inspection and testing of utilities being installed in new subdivisions and commercial projects. Larry Lewis is the Utility inspector assigned to this job. The following are just some of the subdivisions or projects that installed utilities in the past year or so.

Coldwater Creek
Sterling Oaks
Quail Valley
The Woodlands
Pleasant Forest
Eden Estates
BHS Soccer Fields
West Shores at Hurricane Lake

In spite of the slowing economy Benton continues to see many new homes being built and new phases of subdivisions being added.
At the beginning of 2010 the Utility Locator position was reevaluated and moved to our department. Josh Ramsey transferred from the water department to take over this position. We currently process approximately 4500 utility locate tickets per year. Josh is responsible for locating the city’s water and sewer mains along with the electrical infrastructure. Please remember it is a state law to notify Arkansas One Call before you dig. This call not only could save you money from avoided damage to a utility line but more important could save your life.

Recent and Upcoming Projects:

Water Treatment Plant Clear Well Rehab

The rehab of a one million gallon clear well will begin in March of 2010. The concrete tank will be drained so it can be cleaned and a new protective lining applied to the interior. The project is expected to take approximately 90 days to complete. The contractor for the project is Protective Linings & Coatings, Inc. located in Alexander, AR. with an anticipated cost of $ 123,401.00.

Almatis Water Line Project

Coakley Company Inc. recently completed installing approximately 1060 linear feet of 10” PVC water line off Alcoa Road. This project allowed Almatis Company to begin buying water from Benton Utilities. All the construction cost for this project was paid by Almatis.

Fema Phase II

Construction has begun on the phase II portion of the fema project. This includes repairs to the low water crossing on Brent Ford Road which allows access to the water intake structure and a major sewer pump station. The crossing was damaged during the flooding that occurred in 2008. The stabilization of a sewer line crossing located north of Dyer Circle is also included as part of the project. Construction for the project should be completed by early summer.

Christy Acres Sewer Project

Construction has been completed on the Christy Acres Sewer Project located south of Market Street. This project allows sewer service to be available to an area where many septic tanks were failing. A large portion of the project was paid for by a grant for Arkansas Natural Resources. Kajacs Contractors Inc. for Poplar Bluff, MO. was the contractor on the project.

Willow Street Sewer Pump Station Project

On-Line Construction, Inc. from Hot Springs, AR. has begun construction of a new sewer pump station located on Willow Street. The new pump station was designed to collect excess flows during rain events. The wastewater is pumped the equalization basin located nearby and then returned to the waste water treatment plant. This prevents overflows at the existing pump station and provides a more consistent flow at the WWTP. Construction should be completed by mid summer.

Waste Water Treatment Plant Expansion:

The WWTP expansion was completed late in 2009. Max Foote Construction, Inc. from Birmingham, AL. was the contractor for the project. This project brings the design flow of the plant to 8.3 MGD with a peak flow of 12.5 MGD. The construction went very well completing the project two months ahead of schedule and under budget.

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