BENTONVILLE — Much of the 9 miles of pipe between the regional wastewater plant and the city needs to be repaired or replaced less than a decade after being installed.
The estimated cost to fix the problem is $38 million, according to officials.
“That’s a big number,” said Mike Bender, public works director. “That’s a monster. We have to figure out how to kill it.”
Officials aren’t sure who’s going to have to pay for it but are looking at who might be legally responsible.
The Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority hired ACE Pipe Cleaning to assess 47,084 feet of sewer pipe in February 2018 after three cracks were found and one pipe collapsed between March 2016 and June 2018, according to Mike Bender, public works director.
