Angoon and Kasaan receive federal water and sewage grants

So-called honey buckets are used in rural Alaska villages where plumbing is not available. (Creative Commons photo by CambridgeBayWeather)
So-called honey buckets are used in rural Alaska villages where plumbing is not available. (Creative Commons photo by CambridgeBayWeather)

When President Obama visited Alaska last week, he announced plans to improve rural water systems in the state. Most of the Department of Agriculture’s more than $16 million in grants were offered to remote interior villages. But two were offered to places in Southeast.

The sewage and water conditions in some Alaska villages have been compared to third world countries. As many as 30 use honey buckets.

In Southeast, the situation isn’t as extreme but there’s still room for improvement. Kasaan and Angoon have outdated systems and the grants will help fund engineering studies to get projects rolling.

“You know, everyone goes to the bathroom. It’s just going to ensure that our system is good for another 20 to 30 years,” said Albert Kookesh III, the grants manager for the City of Angoon.

The feds awarded the city more than $52,000. The state added another $17,000.

Kookesh said, at one point, the town’s septic tank was leaking three times more sewage into Chatham Strait than the state permits.

“You know Chatham Strait is a pretty big strait and it’s basically the main marine travel that passes right in front of Angoon,” he said. “So we wanted to make sure we weren’t leaking anything out into the environment and what we gather for subsistence uses is contaminant free.”

He said they were able to come up with a Band-Aid fix. But the grant will help with the design of a new system. The City of Angoon plans to start construction to replace the tank next October.

In the village of Kasaan, waste is pumped into the bay. Timothy Willis, a water plant operator, says a corroded pipe has caused problems.

“We get ocean water flowing back into our sewer system which then causes some overflowing of stuff you don’t want overflowing in the street,” Willis said.

He says it’s not an ideal system. However, it’s one regularly seen in small, Southeast villages. People know not to fish and gather by the bay. The sewage isn’t treated.

“It’s mostly decomposed. It’s not like chunks of poop floating around. It’s more bacterial stuff getting in the water,” he said.

The more than $37,000 rural water grant and state match could help. There are plans to do a preliminary environmental and engineering report. But Willis says the grant money alone won’t be enough to finish the project.

“Not to scoff. We’re very appreciative with what we get. But it’s a smaller amount of money,” Willis said. “It’ll help towards a match towards a larger sum of money later that will help with the actual project of replacing the line and equipment.”

Willis estimates about 25 percent of residents are still on honey buckets. He says there are some loose plans to redesign  Kasaan’s septic system. But for now, it’s about keeping the sewage off the street.

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