The city of Bryant has been released from a state order aimed at fixing its wastewater system, closing out a process that stretched on for a decade. City officials announced the end of the consent administrative order this week, pointing to years of behind-the-scenes infrastructure work finally paying off.
According to KARK, a review found 86 sanitary sewer overflows in Bryant between January 2013 and April 2016. The order required the city to reduce the number of overflows and submit a corrective action plan prepared by an engineer, and KARK reports the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality put the consent administrative order in place in 2016. A separate Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality order file also identifies an original consent administrative order dating to 2006 and a supplement to Bryant's order.
The order also addressed a former polishing pond.
Mayor Credits a Decade of City and State Cooperation
Bryant Mayor Chris Treat framed the release as the result of sustained effort rather than a single fix. “For ten years, City employees kept showing up to do that work, and our state partners helped us move it forward. I'm grateful to everyone who had a hand in reaching this milestone,” Treat said, according to the station's report. He expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to reaching the milestone, crediting both municipal staff and state partners for pushing the project across the finish line.
Bryant officials directed residents seeking more information about the order, the wastewater improvements, and upcoming projects to BryantAR.gov, the same report notes. The announcement did not detail the specific repairs or capital projects that brought the city into compliance, nor did it specify current sewer-overflow figures now that the order has lifted.
Master Plans and a Rate Study Signal Continued Upgrades
The sewer-order news comes as Bryant has also been working through broader water-system planning. The city completed its Water Master Plan, adopted in August 2024, and its Wastewater Master Plan, adopted in August 2025, according to Benton Courier. The city has also been moving forward with a water and sewer rate study, part of a statewide push under Arkansas Act 605 of 2021, which requires water providers to complete regular rate studies and set rates reflecting the true cost of operating and maintaining their systems.
Per the Benton Courier's reporting, Bryant planned to present the results of its rate study to the Water/Sewer Advisory Committee during a meeting on September 2 at 6 p.m., though the evidence available does not confirm the year of that meeting or whether it ultimately took place. Combined with the newly lifted wastewater order, the planning work suggests Bryant's utility infrastructure will remain a focus for the city well beyond this latest milestone.
