A Network of Water Funding Officials

Alaska

Regional Water/Sewer Utility Support in the Northwest Arctic Borough

In 2018, the Northwest Arctic Borough created a $1.85 million utility assistance program for all communities in the region. This program paid for wages and benefits for local operators, purchased fuel, provided no-cost customer billing, and provided additional on- and off-site training for operators. In return for this funding, communities had to agree to reduce customer’s monthly rates, perform monthly preventative maintenance and budgeting, and to set aside money for emergencies in order to participate in the program.

The Borough’s goals for this program were:

  • Reduce average residential water/sewer rates by 2/3
  • Reduce the cost and number of emergencies through proper Preventative Maintenance performed by operators
  • Provide regional training and support for operators and administrators
  • Increase construction grant possibilities for communities through increased Best Practice scores. (Best Practice scores are a measure for assessing operations and maintenance capacity of rural water and wastewater utilities, and are used to prioritize grant funding for water/sewer infrastructure projects. More information can be found here)
After one full year’s operation of the program, results have been very promising. Results include:
  • Nine of 10 communities in the region participated in the program
  • Residential rates were reduced by an average of 2/3, and commercial rates by ½
    • Average customer collection rates increased by 61%, likely due to more affordable rates
  • Water/sewer emergencies were reduced dramatically.
  • Regional training for operators and administrators increased by 150% over previous years
  • Best Practice scores in the region increased by 16%. The average region’s score after 1 year of CUAP was 84, which is 37% higher than the state average and the highest in the state. Future grant funding is expected to increase due to higher scores.

Based on the success of the first year of the program, the Borough funded the program for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), who has partnered with the Borough to administer the program, will be marketing the concept to regional Community Development Quota groups in the coming years. We believe this is a great way to provide dependable community jobs, make water and sewer affordable for customers, provide regional support to communities in a way that reduces costs and emergencies, and increase community opportunity to receive grants.


For more information, please contact
John Nichols
jonichols@anthc.org
907.862.1198