1929
The decision to sell the water company led to one of the most interesting periods in the utility's history. The buyer of the Searcy Water Company was none other than Conn Grable, father of the well-known actress Betty Grable. Mr. Grable's company purchased the utility with a 50-year franchise, with the understanding that the system would be improved by building a water plant and other infrastructure as designed and specified by the engineers.
Construction began in 1928 to lay pipes from Searcy to near Little Red River at the current site of the Water Treatment Facility. A filter plant was constructed along with a river intake structure. The original rock intake structure still stands today. The construction was completed by The American Water Softener Company of Philadelphia in 1929. The system at the time was considered to be one of the finest in the country, capable of serving as many as 30,000 people. This was nearly ten times the population in 1929 and was expected to meet the demands of the growing community for many years.
The company was incorporated in 1928 as Searcy Water Company, Inc. Mr. Harry Neely of Searcy served as president, Conn Grable served as vice president, and Mrs. M. J. Lawerenson served as secretary and treasurer. Between 1940 and 1942, the company was purchased from the Grables by W. R. (Riser) Steward, Tom Watkins, and Judge Neely. From 1940 to 1949, the company was known as White County Water Company. During this time, the utility continued to grow and began to sell water to surrounding communities. However, the sewerage system was not as well off.
"The sewer system, at the time, consisted of a large septic tank located in the southeastern part of town. The city Health Officer, Dr. J. W. Hassell, pointed out that it did not meet state requirements and presented a real threat to the health of Searcians. Plans were begun to build a better sewer system. In February of 1934, Searcy received fifty-five thousand dollars to build a new sewerage system in the northeastern section of town on the west side of Gin Creek in what is now Sunnyhill addition. The Federal Compress Company bought the old septic system site." (Searcy, Arkansas A Frontier Town Grows Up With America, Raymond Lee Muncy, 1976)
1929
