ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES
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Residential homes, above ground water and sewer lines and ATV/snowmobile wooden
transportation roadv/ay in the community of Eek, Alaska.
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EPA Headquarters
Matthew Richardson
richardson.matthew@epa.gov
EPA Region 10 Alaska Operations Office
SEPA
Dennis Wagner
wagner.dennisx@epa.gov
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Financial Highlights
Programmatic Highlights
2 | Alaska Native Villages Grant Program
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Alaska Rural and Native Villages
Collaborating with federal, state, and local
partners to address water and sanitation
needs of remote Alaskan villages since 1996.
Public Health Benefits
Reduction in waterborne and respiratory illnesses through
increased access to safe drinking water and sanitary sewer
services.
Environmental Benefits
Reduction in the amount of raw sewage discharged to the
environment, benefiting Alaska Natives and the fish and
wildlife that they depend on.
Economic Benefits
Increased water infrastructure investments reduce health
care costs, stimulate local economies, and create local jobs.
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Alaska Native Villages Grant Program | 3
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I n 1996, Congress introduced the Alaskan Native
I Villages Grant Program (ANV) to address the critical
infrastructure challenges facing communities living in
rural Alaska.
The remoteness, geography, permafrost, and cost
continue to present challenges to these communities, as
many of them lack adequate safe drinking water sources
or a means of safe sewage disposal.
Since its inception, the program has worked to support
these communities with new and improved wastewater
and drinking water systems and to provide training and
technical assistance for the operation and maintenance
of these systems. However, construction, operation, and
maintenance of water infrastructure in Alaska have been
no easy feat, especially given its rural isolation.
Many of these communities can only be reached by
small airplanes, and travel within the area is usually
achieved through alternative means of transportation
(snowmobile and boat).
Alaska has very few roads that link the central population
centers to the Alaska Highway, which complicates
the construction of wastewater and drinking water
infrastructure systems.
The state and federal governments continue to work with
tribal and city governments to fulfill their responsibility
to protect human health through the provision of safe
water and adequate sanitation to the rural Alaskan
communities.
To expedite the delivery of critical infrastructure to
communities with the greatest need, the ANV uses the
Indian Health Service's Sanitation Deficiency System
(SDS) to identify projects.
This report will highlight the wastewater and drinking
water projects completed in 2016 through 2020.
EPA Region 10 (serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington, and approximately 200 Alaskan Native
Villages) manages and administers this grant.
4 | Alaska Native Villages Grant Program
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Alaska Native Villages Allocations
and Total Projects Funded
I Appropriation Amount *
¦Number of Projects Funded
$35,000,000
$30,000,000
$25,000,000
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
$0
25
20
15
10
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
(* Values as appropriated from Congress and not adjusted to current year dollars)
Over the past 24 years, the ANV has worked
to distribute funds for sustainable and
affordable in-home water and sanitation
services in Alaskan native villages and non-
native underserved communities.
ANV funds are used for the planning, design,
construction and/or repair of new or improved
water and wastewater systems.
There are currently 245 communities eligible
for ANV grant funding.1 Through the continued
partnership with local, state, and federal
governments, the ANV has helped to improve
the health, safety, and well-being of thousands
of rural Alaskans.
From 2016 to 2020, EPA awarded over $112 million in
ANV grant funding for the construction of 65 projects
to help improve water and sanitation services in
communities across Alaska.2 The State of Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation reports
that in FY 2000 only 69 percent of rural Alaskan homes
were served with water and sewer service, whereas now
the number is 97 percent, nearly 28 percent point of
improvement.3
Still, the Indian Health Service (IHS) identified a
$249 million need for Alaskan water and wastewater
infrastructure in 2018.4
1. For more information visit https://dec.alaska.gov/water/vil-
laae-safe-water
2. For more information visit the Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Grant
Program Funding History for the Past Decade at
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3. As per hllnr,:/7wwwnmhalar,kaanv//hlml/n?rfnrmarir:p/nmaram-)rirlir:Mnrr,hlmr:'n=17P,r=l
4. Data based on the feasible water and sewer need identified in the IHS 2018 Annual
Report to Congress available at www.ihs.aov/dsfc.
Alaska Native Villages Grant Program | 5
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Wafer tank and distribution building in Kotzebue, AK
New Water Treatment Plant Project:
Kotzebue, Alaska
Currently, treated and drinking water are not
in compliance with primary drinking water
standards due to elevated disinfection
by-product levels. With support from various
funding agencies, the city is currently
constructing a new water treatment plant that
will comply with the drinking water standards.
The new plant will enable the operators to efficiently
provide safe drinking water to the residents.
Funding for the project includes a $16 million ANV Grant
and a $5 million grant from the State of Alaska's Village
Safe Water program.
Due to the extremely short construction season in this
region, the foundation of the treatment plant was poured
in 2019 and construction materials were mobilized to the
site in 2020. The project is anticipated to be complete in
October 2023.
Despite these challenges, the community is
home to over 3,000 people and is a supply hub
for 10 satellite villages in the Northwest Arctic
Borough.
The existing Kotzebue water treatment plant
was constructed in the early 1970s and has
undergone several upgrades and expansions
over the years as demand from the city
increased.
Kotzebue, Alaska, is located 26 miles north of
the Arctic Circle, on a spit of land about 500
miles northwest of Anchorage. The community
experiences extremes in temperature, with short,
warm summers and long, harsh winters.
6 | Alaska Native Villages Grant
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View of the community of Shageluk, Alaska
Shageluk, Alaska, is also known as mile 487
checkpoint of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race. Located on the Innoko River within the vast Yukon-
Kuskokwim Delta, the community is only accessible by
air or by river travel in summer. In winter, snow machines
and dog mushers take to the trails in weather that can
plummet to minus 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
The city owns and operates a water well and a water
treatment plant that supplies the washeteria and its
public watering point, the city office, post office, clinic,
and community center. A washeteria is typically one of
the few buildings in the community that has running
water, often serves as the community drinking water
source, and the only structure that provides public
showers, laundry facilities and flush toilets.
A gravity sewer system with two 5,000-gallon septic
tanks serves the washeteria, city office, post office,
clinic, and community center. Residents of the 34 homes
in the community haul water to their homes and use pit
privies constructed on mounds above the permafrost.
The community partnered with the Alaska Native
Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) to seek funding for
a project to provide first-time piped water and sewer
to the residents. The project includes installation of
underground sewer and water mains to the 34 homes,
and interior plumbing improvements, a new community
weil and water storage tank, and upgrades to the
washeteria and water treatment plant.
Funding for the project comes from a $5 million
ANV Grant, and a $1.7 million grant from the State
of Alaska's Village Safe Water program. The design
is complete, easements have been granted, and the
permits have been issued. Construction is scheduled
to begin in spring 2022, and the project is due to be
completed by fall 2024.
Access to water and sewer has been proven to reduce
the incidence of gastrointestinal illnesses and the
completion of this project will lead to the overall
improved health of the community.
Shageiuk has plans for a new subdivision and hopes
that the new water and sewer system will attract more
families to the community.
Alaska Native Villages Grant Program | 7
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First-Time Water and Sewer Service:
Eek, Alaska
View of the community of Eek, AK, and aboveground water/sewer artic pipelines in the foreground
Eek, Alaska, a community of about 350 residents
located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, has recently
seen the completion of a five-year project to install first-
time running water and sewer services to
the entire community.
Before this, the community had
a watering point at the local
washeteria. Water was hauled
from the watering point to
individual homes, and five-
gallon honeybuckets were used
for waste.
The five-gallon honeybuckets
typically consist of a bucket
with a plastic bag inside.
Residents would carry the
buckets to a honeybucket
dumpsite for disposal, leaving
plastic bags and waste strewn
over an unlined area of tundra.
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The project to bring water
and sewer services to Eek
homes began in 2014 with
the construction of the sewage
lagoon. The crew began laying
pipe in 2015, and in 2017 started
bringing water and sewer services inside
the homes. By spring of 2019, all 100 homes in the
community had received service.
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"Our community will be so much
healthier now," one Eek resident
said. There used to be accidental
spills along the roads when
people were hauling their waste
to the honeybucket lagoon... our
children play in those streets.
Now, we won't have to worry
about that anymore."
"My grandfather used to say a
time would come when we could
push a button and everything
would happen. Now, I see that it
is. When I'm gone, I won't have
to worry about my grandchildren
having safe water."
An ANV grant of $1,500,000, along with a State of Alaska
Village Safe Water matching grant of $500,000, provided
funding to complete water and sewer service to the homes
in the community. The project included water and sewer
service lines, sewer pumping units, and interior
plumbing.
In addition, the grants covered repairs to the
boardwalk, which had been affected by the
installation of the piped system, and completion
of the circulation and generator buildings for the
community water system.The improvements in
safe water and sanitation directly influence the
public health of Eek's population.
Along with the improved health outcomes
the community will see from the project, the
construction created jobs. Most crew members
are iocal residents from Eek. Workers gained
qualifications and job skills through this project,
which may help them find future employment.
Because of the training they've received on the
specific aspects of this system, at least four
residents will be employed to maintain the
community water and sewer systems.
PThe planning, design, and construction for the
Eek water and sewer project were supported by a
collaboration of state and federal funding agencies
committed to working together with the community of Eek
to provide important sanitation services.
8 | Alaska Native -Villages Grant
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First Time Service Piped Water and
Wastewater Project: Buckland, Alaska
Buckland is a community of approximately 416 peopie in
Alaska's Northwest Arctic Borough just south of the Arctic
Circle. Prior to the completion of the First Time Service Piped
Water and Wastewater Project, Buckland was an un-piped
community whose residents hauled water from the water
treatment plant for their daily water needs and used five-
gallon honeybuckets to collect and dispose of their waste.
Often, in winter months, residents would dump the waste
outside of their homes, causing problems during the spring
thaw season when meiting snow and seasonal floods spread
the honeybucket waste around their homes. The only piped
infrastructure in town was the school building, the water
treatment plant, and washeteria. The existing wastewater
from these facilities discharged into a small lagoon located
in downtown Buckland.
It took over a decade to provide piped treated drinking
water and sewage disposal service to the 88 homes in
Buckland. A multi-phased project was required and included:
a new lagoon; a river intake system; a new water treatment
plant; buried insulated water distribution mains; buried
arctic gravity sewer collection mains; service lines; and full
bath and kitchen in-home plumbing. This took 12 years to
complete, from 2007 to 2019. All phases of construction
employed local labor.
The multi-year project to serve Buckland with piped water
and sewer began in 2007 with: designs for a new, larger
lagoon in preparation for the increased water usage, a new
equipment building, and developing a borrow source for all
the upcoming work. In addition, it was necessary to build
a headquarters office to house design and construction
personnel for this long-term project.
In 2008, planning began for the water treatment plant's
raw water tank and raw water line. In 2009, construction
began on the project house office, downtown lift station,
sewer mains, and force main to the lagoon. Work on the
water system began in 2010, along with the first residential
plumbing and service lines.
The construction of the water treatment plant also began
with a new 750,000-galIon raw water storage tank. In August
2011, the first phase of the piped water and sewer system
was put into service, serving 22 homes.
From 2012 to 2016, more Buckland homes were connected
to the new system and a new, more sanitary, honeybucket
dump facility was constructed at the lagoon to serve any
homes that were unable to be plumbed, as well as for any
future residents that may be unable to pay the monthly
utility fees.
During this time, a new water treatment plant was
completed and brought online. The last component of the
community facilities, a new 212,000-gallon treated water
storage tank, was constructed and commissioned in late
2017. Much of Buckland is underlain with permafrost and
over the last few years, the warming climate has caused the
buried pipe systems to exhibit settlement and damage.
From 2018 to 2019, warranty work was performed to
correct any construction flaws and permafrost degradation
damages and provide a more robust, long-lasting system for
Buckland's residents. Today, Buck and's residents enjoy a
modern in-home water and sewer system.
Alaska Native -Villages Grant Program | 9
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Construction of the Water Treatment
Plant Project: Manokotak, Alaska
Manokotak is a piped community of 487 residents located
in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. Manokotak has
two separate developments, Old Manokotak, the original
settlement, and Manokotak Heights, a newer development
located approximately four miles to the east. The Manokotak
Heights development is served with its own water and sewer
system comprised of a well, water treatment system, and
sewage lagoon.
However, frequent water shortages at Old Manokotak and
new homes planned for construction along with a new
school to be constructed in Manokotak Heights required
additional water and sewer facilities to meet the growing
demands.
The associated lagoon and sewer work were completed in 2014,
and work continued on the water mains, service lines, and water
treatment plant. In summer of 2015, work on the water treatment
plant interior was completed along with the remaining distribution
system, leading to a successful conclusion of the project.
With the new wells, water treatment plant, sewage lagoon, and
distribution system, the residents of Manokotak Heights were
served with access to a year-round supply of fresh, safe water.
In 2010, this multi-year project was funded, and work began
in 2011 with the clearing of the lagoon site. Work on the
lagoon and sewer main construction continued through
2012, and the lagoon was completed by the year's end
except for the lagoon liner.
In 2013, the community wells were drilled, and construction
began on the water treatment plant with the raising of the
plant's roof and walls.
10 | Alaska Native Villages Grant Program
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Water System Improvements
Project: Mountain Village, Alaska
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The City of Mountain Village is located on the north bank
of the Yukon River in southwestern Alaska. A federally
recognized Native Alaskan Tribe, led by the Asa'carsarmiut
Tribal Council, is part of the community. Mountain Village is
situated 20 miles west of St. Mary's and 470 miles northwest of
Anchorage. The community is located in the Bethel Recording
District and part of the Kusilvak Census Area.
The public water system in Mountain Village is owned and
operated by the City of Mountain Village and was originally
built in the early 1970s. Over the years, the system has been
expanded to accommodate the growing population. The aging
water system was in very poor condition with many system
deficiencies, which have resulted in community-wide water
shortages in the winter. The winter water shortages have forced
the community to pump untreated water from the adjacent
Yukon River and boil the water before use.
The 2010 amendment to the 2002 Water-Sewer Feasibility
Study and Master Plan and the associated 2017 preliminary
engineering report identified deficiencies with the water
system and identified improvements to include: replacing old
water distribution piping; upgrading, repairing or replacing the
community's weii/pump houses; instituting a well maintenance
program; and implementing an information and control system
for the entire water system.
This project included: water main and water service
replacement; new water storage; and upgrades to two
well houses, the upper distribution main pump house, and
the lower distribution main pump house. Design began
in 2017, construction in 2018, and the project will be 80
percent complete by the end of 2020.
Before this project, the average daily demand in summer
was about 110,000 gallons per day or 128 gallons per
capita per day, and 168,000 gallons per day in winter.
This high per capita water demand was attributable to
distribution pipe failures and leaks.
In August 2020, the project commissioned the new water
storage tanks. Soon after, while the upper pump house and
upper well were bypassed to perform project upgrades, the
upper loop was supplied solely with water tank water for a
period of 10 days, after which the tanks were still over half
fUlU In summary, the community previously had less than
one day of storage, but now has more than 10 days and
perhaps even 20 days.
Following this project, the daily water use was much closer
to the U.S. average of 88 gallons of water per day.
Alaska Native Villages Grant Program 111
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First Time Service Piped Water and
Wastewater Project: Quinhagak, Alaska
Quinhagak is located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in
western Alaska. The community is located along the
south bank of the Kanektok River and the east shore of
Kuskokwim Bay, less than a mile from the Bering Sea coast.
It is approximately 71 miles southwest of Bethel.
Quinhagak was a community whose residents did not have
indoor plumbing and had to rely on hauling water for drinking
and cooking and honeybuckets for waste collection and
disposal. With individual water hauling, significantly less
water than the World Health Organization's recommended
five gallons per person per day was used, and having to haul
their waste in buckets increased the risk of direct contact
with raw sewage during transport as well as contamination
of routes and tundra ponds where waste was dumped.
In order to bring a full-fledged, modern water and wastewater
system to Quinhagak, a 14-year multi-disciplinary project
was planned out with 8 phased service areas. In 2003, the
planning process of transitioning to a piped community
began. Construction commenced in 2005, and by 2008 the
initial water and sewer systems were in place for Service
Area 1, along with a new 10-acre wastewater lagoon. Design
and construction of a new raw water river intake, water
storage tanks, new mains, service lines, and plumbing for
all eight service areas, with improvements to the water
treatment piant, were funded in phases.
The Service Area 2 project began in 2008 with funding to
complete the water and sewer to 23 homes and a teen
center. In 2011, a new raw water intake was designed and
constructed.
Unfortunately this water source was rejected due to
excessive iron bacteria content. Service lines and indoor
plumbing for the homes in Service Areas 3 arid 5 were
completed shortly thereafter.
A new raw water transmission pipeline was designed and
installed in 2.012 after ice flows compromised the existing
pipeline. Piped services and indoor plumbing to the homes in
Service Area 4 were postponed until site control issues were
resolved in 2016.
In 2013, a redesigned intake system using slant wells on the
Kanektok River was brought online. From 2014 to 2017, the
homes in the remaining service areas were completed, and in
2018 warranty work was completed to adjust the elevations
of service lines and pipes at road and pedestrian crossings.
Most homes served were provided with pipes. Homes located
a distance away from the mains were provided with on-site
water haul tanks and an on-site wastewater disposal system.
This project brought indoor water and sewer to 147 homes,
giving Quinhagak residents access to safe and clean water
and wastewater services and enabling them to lead healthier
lives. The infrastructure consists of abovegrourid insulated
piping. The water system maintains continuous flow using
circulation pumps and has heat added to prevent freezing.
The sewer collection system is also insulated and has a
glycol line that maintains above-freezing temperatures.
Each home has a grinder pump station outside that pushes
wastewater into the collector/force main pipe that transfers
the contents to the community lift station and on to the
community lagoon.
12 | Alaska Native Villages Grant Program
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New Water Treatment Plant and
Washeteria Project: City of Wales, Alaska
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Existing washeteriai, in the City of Wales
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The City of Waies is located on Cape Prince of
Waies, at the western tip of the Seward Peninsula,
approximately 111 miles northwest of Nome and
25 miles southeast of Little Diomede. Wales is the
westernmost community on the North American
continent. Most of the community is located on an
ocean beach formation at approximately 12 to 16 feet of
elevation above mean sea level.
The city's existing drinking water treatment plant and
washeteria were designed by the IHS and constructed
in 1979, with improvements made in 1980. The Water
Treatment Plant (WTP) consists of a single multimedia
pressure filter, micron filters, and disinfectant chemical
injection system.
Wales utilizes a groundwater source in a fill and draw
configuration. Two wells with submersible pumps supply
raw water to the WTP through an aboveground 4-inch
wide transmission line 6,350 feet in length. Water is
pumped directly into an existing 500,000-gallon water
storage tank.
The current water source was incorporated into the
system in 2008. Fluoride concentrations in excess of
the secondary drinking water standard were found in the
source at the time of drilling. Uranium was found in this
source in concentration slightly exceeding the maximum
contaminant level for drinking water when sampling for
radionuclides began in 2010.
In addition to being incapable of treating the groundwater for
uranium and fluoride, the existing WTP/washeteria facility is
aging and deteriorating. Some equipment are inoperable. The
existing filters are no longer used. Due to the equipment age,
spare parts are typically difficult to find arid purchase.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's
Village Safe Water Program, in cooperation with EPA, is
assisting the community of Wales with planning, design, and
construction of a new WTP washeteria, and intake facility.
An infiltration gallery will be constructed upstream of the
culvert where Village Creek flows under the road at the base of
Razorback Ridge. The new WTP will use cartridge filtration to
treat the surface water source.
The new WTP and washeteria will consist of four modules,
constructed and tested off site by a general contractor. The
modules will be disconnected and shipped via barge, landed
at Tin City, and transported to Wales via road. Once in Wales,
the modules will be installed on the field foundation built
from treated timber along with the mechanical and electrical
systems.
The existing WTP building, also known as the utility building,
will be remodeled to be used as a pumping facility from the
water storage tank to the existing distribution system and will
provide freeze protection for the water storage tank.
Construction of the WTP and washeteria will start in 2021 and
is scheduled to be completed in summer 2022.
Alaska Native Villages Grant Program 113
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Alaska Native Villages Grant Program
SEPA
Office of Wastewater Management:
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
EPA-832-R21-001
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