Little Rock Municipal Water Works

Little Rock Water Works and Reservoir in 1888.

Lake Maumelle. Photo by Phil Frana.

The Little Rock Municipal Water Works was established in 1935 with funds from the Works Progress Administration.

The City of Little Rock originally depended on the Arkansas River as its source of raw water. In 1936 the city put up $6.59 in forty year bonds to purchase the infrastructure of the private Arkansaw Water Company, build Lake Winona on the Alum Fork of the Saline River, construct water lines to the city, and build a water purification plant at Ozark Point. McDonnell Engineering Company acted as consulting engineering firm on the project. The system was completed on April 17, 1938.

Lake Maumelle was also developed by the Little Rock Municipal Water Works. The utility made plans for the 13.9 square mile reservoir beginning in February 1954. Construction on the dam and spillway commenced on July 1956. Water flowed into the system from the reservoir beginning in June 1958.

The utility merged with the North Little Rock Water Department on July 1, 2001, forming Central Arkansas Water. Central Arkansas Water supplies water to about 388,000 people in the central part of Arkansas. The utility controls to major reservoirs: Lake Winona and Lake Maumelle. Currently, Lake Maumelle supplies approximately sixty percent of the water used within the system. Lake Winona supplies about forty percent.