Water and sewer infrastructure in rural Alaska will soon be under review by a new state advisory committee.
House Bill 209, sponsored by Nome Representative Neal Foster, was signed into law on July 28th. It forms an Alaska Water & Sewer Advisory Committee that will assess current issues with water and sewer conditions, including looking at the amount of homes lacking safe water and sewer. Funding, technology, and previous state and federal efforts will also be under review.
The ten-person committee is under the Alaska Legislature with the members appointed by the Bush Caucus, including members from both the House and Senate, federal and state agencies, as well as from nonprofit tribal health corporations. Two public members from rural communities, as well as a civil engineer, will also serve on the committee.
$51.5 million dollars is in the current state budget for village water and sewer projects; it’s an amount estimated to cover only eight percent of the need. Close to forty percent of that funding currently covers maintenance for existing systems.
The new Alaska Water and Sewer Advisory Committee is expected to present a report on its findings for future legislation by December 1, 2017.
