Woodlawn Hires Wastewater Contractor For Another Year

WOODLAWN - The Woodlawn School Board approved a one-year contract last Thursday for a company to continue monitoring the district's wastewater discharge, but it also discussed looking at a different long-term solutions to the district's sewer issues. Also during the Woodlawn School Board's regular monthly meeting last Thursday night, the board also decided to seek bids to install fire escape doors for classrooms at the high school and voted to include a cheer practice facility in its next Facilities Master Plan that will be submitted to the state. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock recommended to the board that the district enter into a 12-month contract with Meinco WasteWater Systems of Alexander to continue monitoring the district's wastewater discharge to keep the district in compliance with Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) regulations. He said the service will cost the district about $1,300 per month. Meinco, according to Hancock, has been working with Harbor Environmental on the district's "corrective action plan" to put the district's sewer system in compliance with ADEQ regulations. "It looks like we're moving towards getting out from under this (corrective action plan)," Hancock told the board. Board member Aaron Tooke said the monthly cost for monitoring the wastewater provides "incentive" for the district to begin looking at other long-term sewer options, in particular developing a "leach field" to handle the district's wastewater. Since the Woodlawn School campus is not served by a public sewer system, the district must develop and maintain its own system to handle wastewater. The leach field suggested by Tooke is a common method used by many households. It is essentially a series of perforated pipes buried underground, commonly referred to as "field lines," that leach the wastewater into the ground where it is absorbed by the soil. Tooke said he felt about an acre would be ne...