Development

Fort Smith Utility Development

The Utility Engineering program is responsible for development projects and includes Cross-Connection, Inspection, and GIS Resources. The program establishes and tracks Standards and Specifications for water and water reclamation developments. It also designs or oversees the design of Capital Improvement Projects. Engineering also tracks bid tabulations of Capital Improvement Projects to help predict future project costs.

Cross-Connection is an Arkansas Department of Health requirement to protect potable water systems from cross-connection contamination from industrial and irrigation water uses. The primary functions of this program are 1) identifying facilities that need to be permitted under the Cross-Connection Program, 2) issuing permits to facilities that are required to have backflow preventers to protect the public water supply, and 3) monitoring these facilities through site inspections to ensure compliance. To date, the City tracks 2,207 backflow prevention devices.

Utility Inspection observes the construction of new subdivisions and Utility Capital Improvement Projects to ensure compliance with adopted Plans, Standards, and Specifications.

GIS (Geographical Information System Mapping) tracks the physical location and other attributes of the City’s water distribution and water reclamation collection systems.  The water distribution system consists of approximately 720 miles of water lines, 6,637 valves, 4,243 fire hydrants, 16 pump stations, 11 pressure reducing stations, and 13 water storage facilities.  The water reclamation collection system consists of approximately 538 miles of collection pipes, 21 pump stations, 19 miles of force mains, and five flow equalization basins.