Arkansas Wastewater Rebuild Tests Infrastructure Resilience

When tornadoes hit Central and Eastern Arkansas on March 31, 2023, the damage in Wynne extended beyond homes and businesses. The city’s wastewater treatment plant was also affected, creating a public works challenge that lasted well beyond the initial disaster response.

With the plant out of service, officials relied on a temporary lagoon system for more than two years. The situation showed how quickly storm damage can become a long-term operational issue for public utilities, especially when essential systems such as wastewater treatment are involved.

The rebuilt facility is now complete, supported by $2.6 million in federal funding from the Delta Regional Authority and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The project focused not only on restoring service, but also on reducing future maintenance risks and improving the resilience of the city’s wastewater infrastructure.

Concrete protection was part of that strategy. The project used Kryton International’s KIM BioGard, an integral crystalline waterproofing admixture designed for sewage and wastewater environments. Sustain Admixtures, the concrete admixture supplier on the project, recommended the material as part of a durability-focused approach for the rebuild.

Why Wastewater Corrosion Is a Growing Cost Issue

Wastewater treatment plants operate in harsh conditions. Concrete in these facilities can be exposed to acidic water, sulfates, salts, hydrogen sulfide and microbial-induced corrosion. Over time, those exposures can weaken untreated concrete and shorten the service life of critical infrastructure.

For municipalities, that matters because corrosion is not just a maintenance issue. It is a budget issue. A study from the Association for Materials Protection & Performance estimated the annual direct cost of corrosion in the U.S. water and wastewater sector at about $58.5 billion.

In Wynne, the use of KIM BioGard is positioned as a preventive measure as much as a recovery step. The technology is designed to help limit water and chemical penetration by sealing cracks within the concrete matrix, which can reduce the likelihood of future repair needs.

The project reflects a broader shift in infrastructure recovery. Communities are not simply rebuilding damaged systems to match what existed before. They are looking for ways to make facilities more durable, easier to maintain and better prepared for future disruption.

For public utilities facing aging assets, climate-related damage and rising repair costs, Wynne’s wastewater rebuild offers a practical example of how disaster recovery can become an opportunity to reassess long-term infrastructure performance.