Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) – 2016 Project

NOTE: Project pages are being updated regularly to reflect changes, if any; however, some of the information may be dated.

Summary

On behalf of the rural Alaska Native communities of Kotlik, Noorvik, and Alakanuk, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) will conduct the Vacuum Sanitation Energy Efficiency Retrofits project that will focus on water treatment plants located in these three remote Alaskan communities. A variety of energy efficiency retrofits will be implemented to reduce the consumption of diesel fuel and electricity. The communities each feature relatively flat landscapes with significant active layers of permafrost. This requires that each community build water and sewer pipes above ground that are very energy intensive to both prevent water from freezing and to move sewage without the benefit of gravity. Therefore, the retrofits will focus on improvements to the energy-intensive practice of operating a vacuum sewer in rural Alaska.

It is estimated that after implementation of the retrofits the facilities could reduce electric consumption by a total of 214,843 kilowatt-hours, and diesel fuel consumption by 20,349 gallons, a 48.1% reduction in total KBtu. This would provide an annual cost savings of $201,771 (44.3%).

The Village of Kotlik, the Noorvik Native Community, and the Village of Alakanuk are all Alaska Native communities in rural Alaska. All three communities operate above-ground water distribution and sewage collection systems featuring vacuum sewer pumps. The energy costs endured by this technology are dramatic and significantly burden the community with high water and sewer costs that threaten the health and sustainability of the community.

Alakanuk is a Yup'ik word meaning "wrong way," aptly applied to a village on this maze of watercourses. Alakanuk is a Yup'ik Eskimo village active in commercial fishing and subsistence. Alakanuk falls within the transitional climate zone, characterized by tundra interspersed with boreal forests, and weather patterns of long, cold winters and shorter, warm summers. Heavy winds are frequent during the fall and winter.

Kotlik is a Yup'ik Eskimo village practicing a fishing, trapping, and subsistence lifestyle. Kotlik also falls within the transitional climate zone, characterized by tundra interspersed with boreal forests, and weather patterns of long, cold winters and shorter, warm summers.

Noorvik means "a place that is moved to." Noorvik falls within the Arctic climate zone, characterized by seasonal extremes in temperature. Noorvik is primarily an Inupiat Eskimo community with a subsistence lifestyle. Winters are long and harsh, and summers are short, but warm.

The three Tribes designated ANTHC to apply for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funds on their behalf as a consortium. ANTHC is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit tribal health organization, incorporated within the state of Alaska in 1997. Working with local, state, and federal partners, ANTHC offers statewide services in tertiary and specialty medical care, water, and sanitation, community health and research, information technology, and professional recruitment for tribal health partners. This project aims to improve the sustainability and affordability of critical public sanitation infrastructure for the three rural communities.

The Division of Environmental Health and Engineering (DEHE) is the division of ANTHC applying for this grant. DEHE works directly with rural communities across Alaska to provide planning, design, construction, and operations support of public health infrastructure. Through that work, DEHE offers sustainable public health solutions to communities across Alaska and protects the health of Alaska Native people. By reducing costs to operate washeterias and water systems, DEHE works to improve access to clean water in underserved rural communities, as well as improve the sustainability and affordability of critical public sanitation infrastructure.

This project will work within the sanitation system in three communities to reduce energy costs, improve safety, and increase sustainability of crucial public infrastructure through deep energy retrofits.

The primary objectives of this project are to:

1. Reduce energy costs in the sanitation systems in the communities of Noorvik, Kotlik, and Alakanuk by an estimated $201,771 annually. Vacuum sewer systems are the most expensive community sanitation systems in Alaska to operate. Reducing these costs will improve sustainability of this crucial public health infrastructure and offer opportunities to reduce the extremely high water and sewer service fees charged to impoverished communities.
2. Reduce energy consumption in the sanitation system in the communities of Noorvik, Kotlik, and Alakanuk by approximately 48.1% annually. Beyond the price point, the high energy needs are potentially damaging to the communities for several reasons, including increased need for diesel fuel storage infrastructure and increased challenges with balancing electrical distribution demands in the community.
3. Reduce fire danger significantly by eliminating rotary vane style vacuum sewer pumps in exchange for oil-less vacuum pumps that both consume less energy and have a reduced chance of catching fire. Fires from vacuum pumps in Kotlik and similar communities have put millions of dollars of infrastructure at risk.
4. Improve local training and technical capacity through on-site training.

The most important and crucial improvements to the energy consumption of the facility will come with the installation of new vacuum pumping technology. This effort will take a holistic approach to reducing the energy use required to provide sewer service to the community. Other retrofits will include minor weatherization such as weather stripping, window repair, and reducing excessive air transfer. Light-emitting diode lighting on the interior and exterior of the facility, improvements to the fuel oil boiler heating system, and minor modifications in pumping rates and practices in the water treatment system will also be key components of retrofits in each system.

All of the recommended changes will come with a heavy emphasis on increasing local technical capacity and local installation of equipment. For energy efficiency measures to yield lasting results, changes to the operating parameters of the sanitation system must be accompanied by training and local understanding.

This project will take place at the three separate rural Alaska tribal communities of Noorvik, Kotlik, and Alakanuk located in western Alaska. Specifically:

• The Village of Kotlik is located on the east bank of the Kotlik Slough, 35 miles northeast of Emmonak in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and has a population of 653 people.
• The Noorvik Native Community is located on the right bank of the Nazuruk Channel of the Kobuk River, 33 miles northwest of Selawik and 45 miles east of Kotzebue, and has a population of 668.
• The Village of Alakanuk is located at the east entrance of Alakanuk Pass on the southern channel of the Yukon River in western Alaska and has a population of 730 people.

The project is complete. For additional details, see the final report.

The project was competitively selected under the DOE Office of Indian Energy’s Fiscal Year 2015 funding opportunity announcement “Deployment of Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects on Indian Lands – 2015” (DE-FOA-0001390) and started in August 2016.

The November 2016 and November 2017 project reports provide more information.