DANVILLE, ARK. – Wayne-Sanderson Farms partnered with the city of Danville, Ark., and Yell County to upgrade the county’s water infrastructure.

The update includes the installation of an emergency 350-to-400-kilowatt backup generator to power the county’s primary Cedar Piney facility during power outages, ensuring uninterrupted water supply to area residents and businesses.

Cedar Piney was one of two water treatment facilities serving the region and the only backup facility in the system.

Site preparation for the new generator is underway, with installation scheduled for the next few weeks. The community is also building a new water treatment plant to replace the existing and outdated original treatment facility.

Wayne-Sanderson provided a $50,000 grant to cover most of the cost of the $70,000 generator, according to Heath Tate, city manager and member of the project team. The county’s water infrastructure upgrade was made possible through $400,000 from the American Recovery Act.

Danville and the surrounding Yell County are home to more than 25,000 residents, with local water systems processing 60 to 70 million gallons per month.

“Clean water is the lifeblood of our community, and the economic impact of system failure would be huge. Water and wastewater processing and distribution depend on electrical power, and right now, we have no backup, so this is a real blessing,” Tate said.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms said it used about 40% of the system’s overall capacity. The company has more than 700 employees and partnerships with 103 family farms around that facility.

“We live here, and we work here — our families and farms and jobs are here — so this is as important to us personally as it is to our business success,” said Toby Tapp, Danville complex manager for Wayne-Sanderson Farms. “We’re proud to be able to help.”