Calling All Engineers: Who Will Fix Alaska's Sewer Woes?

Alaska officials are trying to fix the state’s hefty infrastructure problems by tapping the competitive spirit of water and sewer engineers.

The Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge, launched two years ago, asked experts from around the world to propose an efficient, small-scale wastewater treatment system that could be useful in small villages around the state.

The third phase of the competition began in December. At this point, three finalists remain. Each has developed plans for giving “individual homes living off the grid the ability to have the amenities of sanitary in-home running water, without costing the water user or the system developer too much money,” KTUU reported.

In phase three, “three teams have $900,000 each to develop and test prototype systems over the next two years,” KTVA reported.

Access to sewage service is fraught with problems in Alaska. Some villages lack flushing toilets and clean water, making residents more prone to illness. State project organizers spelled out the regional challenges that prompted the competition:

• Over 3,300 rural Alaska homes lack running water and a flush toilet. Many more depend on aging and deteriorating piped and haul systems.
• Lack of in-home water and sewer service in rural Alaska causes severe skin infections and respiratory illnesses. Residents of Southwest Alaska suffer rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) that are among the highest in the world.
• To correct this public health problem, agencies have funded conventional, community-wide piped and truck haul systems. Although these systems work, they are expensive to construct and many communities cannot afford their high operational costs.

In essence, the competition “is working to end the honey bucket system currently used in about 30 rural communities,” KTVA reported.

Contestants have already put two years of work into their proposals. In that time they developed “a proposal to build a prototype wastewater system, as well as researching the current needs of residents in rural Alaska. Phase three of the challenge means the finalists will have two years to begin construction on their ideas,” KTUU reported.

The contest will be judged on such criteria as capital cost, durability, feasibility, and parts availability in the regions.

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