Water & wastewater: Nome's aging system: funding needed for more permanent solution than patchwork responses.

• Author: White, Rindi
• Position: ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Water and wastewater are some of the most expensive utilities to provide and also the most vital to keeping a community healthy.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says municipal water and wastewater treatment systems "are among the most energy-intensive facilities owned and operated by local governments, accounting for about 35 percent of energy used by municipalities."

In Alaska, costs can be even higher than those national averages, especially in small rural and remote communities where groundwater is brackish or soils unsuitable for building wastewater treatment facilities.

But what's happening with water and wastewater in Alaska's larger communities? Are water utilities much different than Outside? What are the issues facing these utility providers? In this ongoing series, Alaska Business Monthly readers can learn about utilities across Alaska and find out how each community is preparing for the future.

The historic gold-rush town of Nome has some of the best-tasting water in the state, Nome Joint Utility System Field Superintendent Toby Schield says, but it's battling outdated piping that, paired with the permafrost lurking below the surface of the ground, is causing real problems for the city.

Nome won the Alaska Rural Water Association's large water system of the year award at the group's 2014 annual conference in October. The award is given yearly to recognize rural water systems for outstanding performance and professionalism.

But about a third of the roughly twenty-seven miles of piping that carries water and wastewater for about 3,600 Nome residents--1,100 customers--is aging and in need of replacement. When insulated piping installed in 1982 and 1984 was buried, the practice at the time didn't include digging out the permafrost layer and replacing it with thaw-stable material. Along the length of the '80s era piping, the permafrost has thawed and the pipes are settling. Leaks--on both the water and wastewater lines--have occurred as a result, Schield says. When leaks happen, the situation can get worse fast, because the water is piped warm to keep it from freezing, and septic waste is also warm, causing permafrost thawing to happen faster.

The city responds quickly to leaks or breaks, but city leaders hope to get funding for a more permanent solution than the patchwork response current funding levels allow.

The city has replaced roughly half of the fifty-five thousand feet of sewer and water line installed in...