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HELP 2 OTHERS (H2O) PROJECT
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Rogers Water - A Historical Perspective
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The history of Northwest Arkansas is closely linked to water. The White River, a major
tributary to the Arkansas River system, runs north through the heart of the Ozark Plateau before crossing into Missouri,
only to come back through north central Arkansas, through the Delta, and into the Arkansas River just before that river
terminates into the mighty Mississippi River. This river was used as a major transportation route, from prehistoric
times to as late as the 1960's. The bottomland adjacent to the river and its tributaries was arable; the remaining
ridges were rocky forests, cleared in some areas for cattle grazing. During the early years of the 1900's, the Rogers
area was noted for fruit orchards. |
| The City of Rogers was incorporated in 1881 after the Frisco Railroad
line established a stop here. An all-weather spring was discovered and utilized for boiler makeup water near
the present site of Tyson's of Rogers. Rogers was named for Captain Charles Warrington Rogers, Vice-president
and General Manager of Frisco Railroad. The springs, called Frisco and Diamond, used by the railroad, were
developed as water resources for the new town. |
Rogers' first elevated storage tank, located at the intersection of Spring and East Walnut,
as it appeared in 1913. |
| Noted as a railhead, Rogers became a center for agriculture and
tourism. Attracted by the area's mild climate and sparkling springs and rivers, few people moved to
Rogers until industry discovered the area. |
Pictured is the old Frisco Springs pump
house, which was abandoned in 1954. |
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The arrival of Daisy Manufacturing, Wendt-Sonis (now RTW), Bear Brands (Tyson's
Chick-n- Quick) brought new jobs and heightened demand for more water. Southwestern Power Company owned
the Water Company until 1945, when the City of Rogers purchased it. |
| The 1980's were a time of unprecedented growth for Rogers and the
entire NWA area. Beaver Lake became a large tourism and retirement draw. Industries, such as Bekaert Steel,
Preformed Line Products, Superior Wheel, Scott Paper Company, and Crane Company moved to town and expanded,
lured by the ready supply of labor and adequate water supply. In 1983, another transmission main was built
for Rogers and Bentonville. Additional storage tanks were built in 1969 and 1990. Beaver Water District
doubled its treatment capacity in 1993 |
In 1955, Rogers built additional storage to go with it's new water treatment plant at Lake Atalanta.
This 0.5 million gallons (MG) tank is still in operation at 8th Street and Persimmon.
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Today, Rogers Water Utilities is one of the largest public water utilities in Arkansas. At
the present time, the Rogers Waterworks and Sewer Commission is considering the construction of additional storage
facilities and transmission mains. There was a rate increase effective January of 2005. The previous rate increase
was 15 years prior to that in January, 1990. |
Rogers Sewer - A Historical Perspective
The development of a sanitary sewer system was necessary for the town of Rogers to grow.
The City built a collection system in the 1930's. Small, Imhoff - cone style wastewater treatment plants were
located on the railroad track south of town and on Olive Street on Turtle Creek. Rogers received government
grants to sewer large areas of town on septic tank - leach field systems in 1951. The two-treatment plant system
was abandoned in 1961 when Rogers built a trickling filter plant on West Oak Street in 1961. The plant was
expanded in 1970 and 1978.
The growth of the poultry industry caused the treatment plant to quickly become obsolete.
Coupled with new, federal regulations aimed at making the nation's waters "fishable and swimmable",
Rogers was forced to abandon the Oak Street facility (which was now in the City's growth area) to move to its
present location in 1987. The collection system was expanded in 1997. The treatment plant was expanded at the
same time, in order to accommodate the increased flowrate from Rogers.
The Rogers Waterworks and Sewer Commission is planning a sewer improvement project that
will have the entire City virtually covered by sewer service. The RPCF has won two national awards for
environmental excellence. Although the sewer rates in Rogers are slightly higher than some area cities, the
sewer system is sound and ready for growth into the new millenium.
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