When it comes to issues surrounding Bentonville’s rapid growth, residents might quickly identify traffic or affordable housing. Local leaders, however, say there’s another major issue that affects everyone — water and sewer infrastructure.

It may not be the most glamorous topic, but officials say it could be one of the most important, which is why business leaders and city representatives came together last week for a Build Bentonville event, titled “Beneath the Surface: The Biggest Challenge to Bentonville’s Growth.” 

“We’ve got a lot of big challenges right now, but water’s the most important thing, if you ask me,” said Mike Bender, public works director for the City of Bentonville. Bender was one of three panelists at the event, along with Lane Crider, chief executive officer of Beaver Water District, and Mayor Stephanie Orman.

“Without water, you don’t have anything else. You can live without electricity, live without a lot of stuff. You can’t live without water, so we’ve got to take care of it,” Bender added.

The panelists identified two main challenges to meeting Bentonville’s future water and sewer infrastructure needs: accurate planning and adequate funding.

In 2018, the city’s water master plan anticipated a 3% annual population growth rate, which proved to be insufficient. 

“Back in 2018 though, one of the reasons we stuck with 3% is we saw numbers like 80,000 people. ‘Wow, 80,000 in Bentonville. … I don’t think it’s coming.’ But again, Bentonville’s got tremendous potential,” Bender said. “So we started looking at this a little differently.”

To mitigate underestimations, the updated 2024 water master plan accounts for a more robust annual growth rate of 5% to 6.5% within its service population, which also includes Bella Vista and Cave Springs.

Mayor Orman said another way the city is working to be more proactive with planning for infrastructure is by updating its land use map, which outlines where and how Bentonville should grow in the coming decades. Once finalized, the map will inform zoning regulations and development for years to come.

“We need every city around us to really pay attention to those land use plans, because that’s …  what you’re using to build out your infrastructure, to be prepared, to be more proactive with things,” Orman said. “And when we are not consistent with that land use variability, from a utility standpoint, it’s very challenging.”

Making sure Bentonville is better prepared is going to take a community-wide effort, as well as more funding, Orman said.

“It takes everybody having a piece of this pie to make it better and to grow,” Orman said. “You have to understand all the complications behind the scene, and then you got to get a plan, and you got to get everybody on board with that plan. You got to find that funding mechanism to do that, and then you got to get the infrastructure actually in the ground.”

Both Bender and Orman emphasized the need for developers to come to the city with potential projects well in advance. 

“You want to bring these things to develop Bentonville, it would be great if we could have these conversations with you, so as this land use goes in, we have the ability to plan for that infrastructure,” Orman said.

Orman said she has also been speaking with officials from larger cities to research how to be more prepared for growth, and being proactive with planning and infrastructure is one thing cited as a top priority. 

When it comes to funding, Beaver Water District’s Lane Crider said the community needs to shift its thinking on spending for water utilities and that federal funding has been “a drop in the bucket” compared to what Arkansas needs. 

“I know that your cell phones are important, and people don’t hardly blink anymore to spend $100 or more a month for their cell phone,” Crider said. “But when you’re not willing, or you want to really take opposition to a water bill that’s water and wastewater, and sometimes sewer and others, that’s $30, $40, $50, even $60 — I mean listen, we’re talking about public health issues here.”

Cost increases make advanced planning even more important.

“You can’t upgrade your wastewater treatment plant tomorrow,” Orman said, citing a year-long design process and the prospect of cost increases within that timeframe. “You think you have enough funding, but then the actual project gets bid.”