The Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative
Achieving Sustainability Through Collaborative Support of Utility Management and
Operations
In rural Alaska, harsh winters create challenges for water and wastewater services, including freezing pipes and
water supply, resulting in water and sewer service interruptions. Isolated communities, lack of resources and
staff, and harsh weather amplify environmental and public health challenges. Collaboration within and between
communities have helped to alleviate the burden by creating economies of scale to address needs. The Alaska
Rural Utility Collaborative (ARUC) is a program within the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) that
strengthens community collaboration and sustainability, and makes efforts to prevent major losses when
problems arise.
Benefits of ARUC Membership
4 Communities are equipped to protect health and
improve quality of life
4 Emergency response is enhanced by creating
economies of scale
4 Qualified staff operate and maintain community
systems to provide high-quality drinking water
and safe sewage disposal
4 Community members receive job and training
opportunities as water plant operators with
good wages and benefits. The workforce is
further developed through training of back-up
staff in each community
4 Prevention and maintenance extend the useful
life of community systems, saving millions of
federal and state dollars in replacement costs
4 Water and sewer expenses are paid through
ARUC with community funds
4 User fees are set in agreement with community councils. Each community rate varies to meet the unique
community context to be self-sustaining
4 ARUC enforces shut-off policies for non-paying customers
4 Communities have access to expertise and utility support from ANTHC engineers, operations and
maintenance specialists, utility mangers and grant specialists at no additional cost to customers
4 Membership automatically renews in most cases
Figure 1. Map of ARUC Member Communities
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Background
ARUC began as the Rural Utility Cooperative
(RUC) in 2004 as a pilot program of the Yukon-
Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), with
funding from the EPA. In its first year, RUC
served three communities: Holy Cross, Grayling
and Upper Kalskag. YKHC transferred
ownership of the RUC program to ANTHC in
October 2007 and the program was renamed
Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative in 2008. As
of 2018, ARUC serves 26 full member
communities and five Assisted Billing
communities to provide training to increase
community capacity and improve system
operations and finances.
ARUC empowers its member communities to
manage, operate and maintain water and
wastewater systems through a strength-in-numbers approach. As a result of ARUC, community systems in rural
Alaska build an emergency and parts reserve fund, technical and engineering support from ARUC engineers, and
additional assistance to access project funding. ARUC helps water and sewer systems increase efficiency, reduce
fuel usage, train and retain the workforce, increase sustainability and decrease reliance on state and federal
agencies. The goal of ARUC is to build local capacity and for community members to benefit from reduced fees
and less system downtime.
The ARUC Advisory Committee includes a representative from each member community. Representatives serve
as liaisons between ARUC and participating communities. The committee meets four times a year to discuss
issues related to community system operations, maintenance, ordinance revisions and utility budgets and fees.
Representatives maintain the purpose and value of ARUC: to maximize public health benefits of sanitation
facilities and build local community capabilities (ARUC, 2017).
ARUC Full-Membership Services
Communities can choose to participate solely in ARUC's Assisted Billing Program or become a full ARUC
member. To become a full member, communities must participate in the Assisted Billing program for at least
one year.
Training and Technical Assistance
ARUC engineers and operations staff work one-on-one with operators, provide routine training to ARUC
communities, and provide off-site training in Anchorage, Bethel, Kotzebue, and Nome.
Figure 2. ARUC Advisory Committee in 2016
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Assisted Billing Program
Through the Assisted Billing (AB) Program, ARUC provides billing and collection
services which help communities increase revenue from user fees that cover direct
expenses and enable utilities to build a reserve account. This program only requires
a 30-day commitment between ANTHC and the participating communities.
The AB program enrolls communities with utility billings (electric, water, sewer)
and assists communities with collecting monthly utility fees from customers. The
money collected, minus a billing service fee, is then sent back to the community
to operate their water/sewer system. The billing service fees range between
$500-$800 per month, depending on the number of homes within the
community, and covers labor, postage, envelopes, and any additional billing
expenses.
Emergency Response
Utility emergencies, such as a freeze-up of a community water source, requires
preparedness, communication, and quick response. The following case studies
showcase how ARUC assisted communities during emergencies.
Ambler In 2017, the raw water line between the water intake well and the treatment
plant froze in Ambler. Fortunately, the system had a heat trace and pipe connection
to the well drop pipe installed in 2016 by ARUC. Local operators responded quickly
and used the heat trace to thaw the well before more of the line froze and avoided a
system-wide freeze.
Upper Kalskag A thawing facility for a sewer force main line was installed in Upper
Kalskag. As thawing capabilities for sewer lines are only needed in rare freeze cases,
a permanent facility was not needed and would require unaffordable electricity and
fuel storage for heating. Instead, a mobile facility was installed in a remote location
without a permanent heating source and electrical service but could thaw frozen lines
when needed.
St. Michael The extremely cold winter of 2017 caused many pipes to freeze. At the
same time, the remote monitoring alarm system broke down and operators did not
receive a signal about the freezing temperature within the system. In January 2017,
local operators contacted ARUC for assistance. Several organizations, community
members, and local operators helped to restore service to the community. The Bering
Straits Housing Authority provided 100 five-gallon buckets, hand sanitizer, and septic
haul bins to provide temporary relief to those without water and sewer. St. Michael's
emergency reserve funds provided immediate assistance and temporary repairs. The
Native Village of St. Michael received grants totaling $750,000 from the Housing and
Urban Development Indian Community Development Block Grant Imminent Threat
program and the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation Large
Infrastructure Outside Entity Funding to assist with permanent infrastructure repairs.
ARUC Member
Communities
Ambler
Chevak
Chignik Lake
Deering
Golovin
Goodnews Bay
Holy Cross
Kiana
Kobuk
Kotlik
Lower Kalskag
New Stuyahok
Newhalen
Noorvik
Pitkas Point
Quinhagak
Russian Mission
St. Michael
Savoonga
Scammon Bay
Shungnak
Sleetmute
South Naknek
Toksook Bay
Tyonek
Upper Kalskag
Assisted Billing
Communities
4
4
4
4
4
Grayling
St Mary's
Buckland
Kivalina
Selawik
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Engineering Projects
Communities have installed cost-efficient technologies to
detect problems early and save on energy and repair costs.
These projects include:
4	Remote Monitoring
4	Heat Recovery
*	Energy Efficiency
*	Service Line Projects
Remote Monitoring
Remote monitoring provides essential information to
operators and engineers when they are not physically present at the water plant. Remote monitoring systems
alert operators via email or text of concerning issues, such as changes in temperature and flow rates. Remote
monitoring has assisted many communities in detecting and responding to problems early.
In Shungnak, engineers and operators received a notification regarding low water tank levels and responded
early to prevent the issue from getting worse, saving thousands of dollars in labor and repair costs.
In St. Michael, data from remote monitoring helped identify the cause of a system-wide freeze. Local operators
used remote monitoring data as evidence of a system-wide problem and received grant funding to fix the issue.
Chevak used remote monitoring data to achieve solvency and develop reserve savings. Operators monitored
fuel usage over time to determine a precise amount of fuel needed for each system. They lowered the amount
of fuel used throughout the year and saved on fuel costs.
Newhalen improved their water monitoring systems to reduce energy costs. A controller was installed on the
water storage tank to indicate how much water is remaining. These controllers help prevent problems from
arising and assist local operators in maintaining adequate water levels.
Heat Recovery
Heat recovery, or transferring and using heat that would otherwise evaporate, helps to improve energy
efficiency, lower fuel usage and costs, and decrease monthly water and sewer utility rates for customers.
ANTHC's Energy Initiative Department installs a community heat recovery system by conducting a feasibility
study and then securing funding for the project. Local operators and ARUC engineers completed a heat recovery
project in Russian Mission in 2017, where they installed a pipeline to transfer excess heat generated by the power
plant to the water treatment plant and reduced fuel usage by 2,200 gallons annually. In a recent example, Chevak
is installing a heat recovery project. The community uses an average of 15,000 gallons of fuel per year, and
expects to save an estimated 12,500 gallons annually, through the heat recovery installation project.
Energy Efficiency
Noorvik and Kotlik upgraded their systems to improve energy efficiency. In both communities, new vacuum
pumps and control schemes were installed for the vacuum sewer system. In Noorvik, local operators repaired a
vacuum leak which resulted in increased energy efficiency and improved productivity.
Toksook Bay
Figure 3. Toksook Bay, which is an ARUC member
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Service Line Projects
Permafrost shifts the ground and pipes as it
freezes and thaws. Flexible service lines reduce
the risk of connection breaks and pipes pulling
away from homes. In Noorvik and Savoonga,
flexible service connections, including helical piles,
adjustable support and solid platforms were
installed. This prevented potential leaks, freeze-
ups, air gaps and structural damage.
In 2017, six service line projects were completed
in the communities of Holy Cross, Chignik
Lagoon and Scammon Bay. These lines
expanded service, increased efficiency, and
facilitated growth of these communities by
increasing their capacity to provide service to
more members.
Energy Efficiency in Chevak
Chevak has a been a member ofARUC since 2008. In
2013, Chevak's system was $200,000 in debt. Energy
and repair costs increased customer fees to $165 per
month.
The community gained assistance to:
4 Install a sewer energy efficiency project (2013)
4 Install a wind-to-heat energy project
4 Train operators
/As a result, customer fees decreased to $85 per
month and Chevak's system has saved more than
$500,000 in emergency reserves.
Accomplishments
ARUC received the impressive Harvard Project on
American Indian Economic Development Honoring
Nations High Honors award in 2016. The Honoring
Nations program celebrates outstanding examples
of tribal governance. ARUC was recognized for its
approach of building on economies of scale to
overcome the challenges in rural Alaska. ARUC built
a collaborative to assist residents during
emergencies, train and develop the workforce, and
help communities to financially sustain their water
and sewer systems. Rural communities across the
US can use a similar approach by collaborating with
nearby communities or neighboring counties to
improve their water and wastewater systems and
ultimately improve health outcomes.
HONORING NATIONS
An Awards Program that
Identifies, Celebrates, & Shares
Outstanding Examples of Tribal Governance
HIGH HONORS
Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
2016
j]W—^
JOSEPH P. KAI.T
REGIS
CHAIRMAN OF
PECOS
[HE HONORING
MEGAN MIInOKA HILL
DIRECIOKOF
HONORING NATIONS
Figure 4. ARUC Received High Honors from Harvard Honoring Nations in 2016
v>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 810-R-20-008
FEBRUARY 2019
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