Providing Sustainable Utilities in Alaska's Rural and Remote Villages (50m Lecture)

In 1960, Indian Health Service (IHS) began funding sanitation facilities in Alaska. In 2001-2008, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium conducted a pilot in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta demonstrating how cooperative principles could be applied to drinking water and sanitation. These communities formerly had sewage lagoons and water haul systems. Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative (ARUC) has grown to 31 villages from this initial piloting.

Changes in permafrost, freeze-thaw cycles, severe storms and coastal erosion, along with high energy prices are affecting public health. Average 2012 diesel fuel prices in rural communities averaged over $6.00 with some Arctic communities well over $8 a gallon. An emerging crisis looms in sustainable operation and maintenance and developing resources that can lower the costs of energy.

Clean water and proper sanitation have significant public health benefits. So does investing in renewable energy sources that do not have high carbon emissions or pollutants that affect air quality and human health. Given high energy costs, improving affordability requires efficiency and renewable energy investments to improve rural utility economics over dependence on expensive diesel fuel.

Facilities must also be maintained in harsh environments where qualified personnel are relatively scarce. Capability and capacity building in villages is key to integrated public health infrastructure withstanding changes in environmental conditions and future energy price spikes. Applying collaborative principles can assist in achieving more sustainable communities. Our goal remains: “Alaska Natives become among the healthiest people in the world.” We need solutions that put communities at the leading edge of public health practice.