Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority
Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority (LRWRA) provides critical sanitary sewer services to protect public health and the environment. We maintain 1,400 miles of public sewer pipelines throughout Little Rock to service more than 202,000 residents. Routine inspection of our sewer pipelines are essential in preventing hazardous backups into homes and businesses or overflows into the community from the 32,000 manholes we maintain.
Our Collection Systems Maintenance Division handles maintenance of all sanitary sewer pipelines in Little Rock. The pipes are located underground and are connected by a series of manholes at or just above ground level. Manholes and sewer pipes are found either in public right-of-way or in easements on private property. To maintain our shared sewer system, our LRWRA team relies on property owners to ensure access to all manholes and pipelines located within an easement on private property.
Please use the illustration below to assist you as you explore our FAQs on sanity sewer easements.
Easements are portions of private property dedicated for a designated purpose, while the property owner retains ownership of the property. A Sanitary sewer easement provides LRWRA access to inspect, maintain, observe, replace, or repair public sewer pipes on your property. In the City of Little Rock, these easements vary in width, based on the depth of the sewer line. However, per LRWRA Standards and Specifications requirements, easements shall be at least 10 feet wide and centered on the sewer lines. Please, see below a link to LRWRA’s Standards & Specifications. Easements requirements are found in Section 01100.
https://www.lrwra.com/customer-center/standards-and-specifications/
Easements are developed at the time the utility service is constructed or when a piece of property is subdivided for use. Sewer and utility easements are often shown on property surveys, subdivision plats, and descriptions of land such as a deed.
LRWRA Staff may periodically need access to the portion of public sewer in your yard for inspection, cleaning, or repair. Proper notification will be provided to you by LRWRA Staff prior to accessing the property. It is the responsibility of the resident to not cover or bury any points of entry to the public sewer such as manholes. These typically have metallic lids with the label “SANITARY SEWER” and LRWRA’s Logo etched on them.
The land over an easement may be used if the use does not result in significant interference with the easement. Significant interference is anything that would prevent our work crews from accessing the area. Permanent structures are not allowed in or on an easement area. For example, you may not plant trees or construct permanent structures such as a house, shed, deck, garage, retaining wall, swimming pool in or on an easement area. Temporary structures are allowed if they do not interfere with the easement. For example, landscaping such as flowers and small shrubs are allowed. If a fence has been constructed over an easement it may have to be temporarily removed to access the easement.
Emphasizing the need to keep easements clear is a proactive approach LRWRA takes to save valuable time in the event a sewer overflow or emergency response is required. Having immediate access to the areas of need during a sewer overflow or emergency is critical to limiting the extent of potential sewer discharges to the environment and minimizing the time taken to address such occurrences.
It is LRWRA’s mission to serve the Little Rock Community by protecting public health and the environment while leading the industry by reclaiming water for a more sustainable tomorrow. We adopt a proactive approach to preventing the occurrence of sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) in the collection system. This is done through continuous inspection and monitoring of our collection system using acoustic inspection technology Acoustic Inspection Program | LRWRA.
LRWRA’s small diameter system (pipes 8 to 12 inches in diameter), which equates to roughly 1,100 miles of underground pipes, are inspected each year by our field crews. This helps us stay ahead of the curve by identifying defects or conduct targeted cleaning and repair needs before these become environmental issues. Having unobstructed access to the portions of your property dedicated for public use (easements) is extremely critical to carrying out these various maintenance activities of our shared sewer system.
LRWRA does not issue construction permits. Please contact the City of Little Rock’s Planning and Development Department Planning and Development | City of Little Rock .
Once you establish there is an easement on your property, you may email questions to: sewereasements@lrwra.com
LRWRA’s General Sewer Use Ordinance, No. 22,185, was adopted by the City of Little Rock Board on November 1, 2022. The following sections of the Ordinance pertain to sewer/utility easements and obstruction to the access of easements:
Section 5.2. Unauthorized Covering
“Unauthorized covering with landscaping or permanent structures of any points of entry or access to the public sewer, such as manholes, is prohibited. Landscaping or permanent structures include, but are not limited to earth, shrubs, trees, buildings, walls, fences, or mailbox kiosks/shelters. The property owner shall be fully responsible for the cost of and physical removal of any such landscaping or structures installed in violation of this section.”
Section 7.1. Right of Entry
“The CEO or other duly authorized employee of Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, holds an easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the public sewer system within said easement…”