A preliminary report from an engineering firm in Conway hired to study the Harding Drain system and ways to reduce flooding, particularly in the downtown area has prepared a report and listed estimated costs for several options ranging from a low of $1.735 million to a high of more than $21.572 million.
At a meeting of the Pine Bluff City Council last week, Larry Matthews, director of the Economic and Community Development Department passed out copies of the preliminary report from Civil Engineering Associates, as well as a letter from the firm which has also been asked to design and manage construction services in return for a fee.
Matthews said the fee, $68,000, is “very economical” and said there is money left from the 2011 sales tax which among other things called for drainage improvements to pay the fee. He said the Urban Renewal Agency would also like to participate.
“We have to do something,” Matthews said. “They’ve made suggestions on how to approach (the problem).”
According to the preliminary report, the Harding Drain and Outlet Canal were originally developed by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide flood control in Pine Bluff, and consisted of a series of open ditches and tunnels with a flow direction from west to east. It originally began on South Blake Street (U.S. 79) and ran northeasterly to a point of confluence with the canal located east of South Missouri Street, south of East 8th Avenue and west of South Kentucky Street.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The study recommended four options to improve the situation and reduce flooding, beginning with removing overgrowth from the Main Channel of the Outlet Canal which had a price tag of approximately $1,735. million. This area, the study said is in need of overgrowth removal in the area of the Outlet Canal south of East Harding Avenue. “Extensive overgrowth in this area drastically slows the movement of water through the area and would significantly impact the peak flood elevations upstream.”
A second option would be to build a stormwater “detention basin” using currently undeveloped land located south of the Commerce Drive ditch. The proposed land area for the basin is approximately 54 acres with an average depth of 8-feet. The total capacity of the basin would be approximately 140.8 million gallons. The projected costs for that alternative was put at approximately $7.508 million.
Option three called for the installation of a pump station with a pumping capacity of 40,000 to 50,000 gallons per minute into the Arkansas River in combination with the construction of the detention basin. Estimated costs for that option were $15.673 million.
The fourth option, combining all three of the others was estimated to cost $21,572. million and was described by the engineering firm as “the most effective alternative for mitigating flood elevations within the studied area.”
The study also said they were asked to determine the most cost effective methods to reduce flooding within the tunnel sections of the Harding Drain, particularly flooding in municipal buildings and the Pine Bluff Convention Center, and said option 3,the installation of a pump station. That however should be combined with the city considering the removal of sediment in the tunnel with an estimated depth of 18 to 24 inches.