Sparta Front Page
Sparta sees support
State board backs projects
Laura Bond, Reporter
07-29-2009
North Louisiana’s water crisis garnered statewide concern Tuesday at a meeting of the Louisiana Groundwater Commission on Louisiana Tech University campus.Before a crowd of meeting attendees that included government leaders and community members from throughout the region, commission representatives directed their attention toward a long-standing problem — the depleting levels of the Sparta Aquifer.
The aquifer is the primary drinking water source for Lincoln and 13 other north Louisiana parishes and is slowly running out and becoming unusable in some areas because of decreased quality.
Under the leadership of State Department of Natural Resources Secretary and commission chair Scott Angelle, the commission members approved a resolution expressing their support for two projects designed to open up alternative water sources. Drawing on alternative water sources would relieve some of the strain on the Sparta, which is being greatly overused. Residents, businesses and industries are drawing water out of the Sparta Aquifer faster than it can be replenished. The aquifer is overused by about 17 million to 18 million gallons per day, which has resulted in a significant drop in the water levels and decreased water quality because of saltwater intrusion.
West Monroe Mayor Dave Norris spoke on the first project, which he expects to be complete in spring or summer of 2010. The “Recycling Water Project” entails the construction of a facility that treats wastewater, so it might be used in place of Sparta Aquifer water by the West Monroe Graphic Packaging plant.
Norris said the Graphic Packaging paper mill uses about 10 million gallons of Sparta Aquifer water per day, and the proposed facility is capable of treating an equal amount of wastewater. However, he said the city is only producing 7 million gallons of wastewater, so that is all that would be available for a period of time. Such a project could cut overuse of the Sparta by a significant portion. Industries use 44 percent of the water sucked from the aquifer.
West Monroe has had to put up money of its own, but Norris said the city also received around $19 million in state aid and stimulus funds for the treatment facility project.
The second project — the Union-Lincoln Water Supply initiative — involves treating water from Lake D’Arbonne for use by Union and Lincoln parishes. Ruston Mayor Dan Hollingsworth, who is the Louisiana Municipal Association’s representative on the commission, said a study has been done to indicate the project’s feasibility, and they are awaiting word to see if the United States Department of Agriculture approves a grant for a facility plan. The total cost for the project is around $75 million — a price tag Hollingsworth said would require more funding than that available in Lincoln and Union parishes.
Hollingsworth said the commission’s support and endorsement of the two projects could help in obtaining state or federal funding for them.
“These projects are the only present day projects that are ongoing to begin to solve the overall problems with the Sparta Aquifer, and they are only a beginning,” Hollingsworth said. “We small parishes and small towns cannot afford to save the Sparta by ourselves. The Sparta is a state-wide problem, so that’s why the state needs to be in on it.”
One issue that came up during the meeting was the installation of injection wells, which could allow for the re-injection of water into the Sparta. Hollingsworth said it would be beneficial if water was injected to act as a barrier to intruding saltwater in areas of the Sparta where the saltwater encroachment has significantly impacted the water quality.
Angelle asked staff members to research Best Management Practices of injection wells.
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