A sewer dispute between two central Arkansas cities now carries a price tag: $12 million. That is the estimated cost to repair sewer lines operated by Sherwood, according to a lawsuit filed by North Little Rock, which alleges a failure to maintain part of the system.
The city of North Little Rock filed the sewer-system lawsuit against Sherwood, which operates the sewers at the center of the case, according to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The complaint points to a Chesterfield manhole as part of the dispute, the paper reports.
Wastewater Utility Alleges Years of Neglect
The legal fight was brought by North Little Rock Wastewater, which sued the City of Sherwood and the Sherwood Sewer Committee, alleging they failed to maintain sewer infrastructure in part of Sherwood, according to arkansasleader.com. The allegation centers on upkeep of lines that North Little Rock says have deteriorated to the point of requiring the multimillion-dollar fix.
The complaint alleges neglect of sewer infrastructure. The $12 million figure is an estimate for repairs to the sewer lines.
Sherwood Pushes for Arbitration
Weeks before the repair estimate became public, Sherwood moved to head off a courtroom fight altogether. The city asked a circuit court judge to either dismiss or stay the lawsuit so the matter could instead be resolved through arbitration, according to an October report from arkansasonline.com.
That request suggests Sherwood wants the dispute handled outside of open litigation, though the court has not yet ruled on whether the case will proceed in front of a judge or move to arbitration.
What happens next hinges on that pending decision. Until a judge rules on Sherwood's request, the $12 million repair estimate and the allegations behind it remain unresolved, with North Little Rock and Sherwood on opposite sides of the sewer dispute.
