ANTHC partners with USDA-RD and state to help Eek add water and sewer infrastructure
September 16, 2016Categories: Healthy Homes and Communities
ANTHC is busily working with the community of Eek to provide piped water and sewer to residents in this western Alaska village of approximately 300 people. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program (USDA-RD) recently awarded $5.9 million to provide water and sewer main lines, services, and house plumbing. Funding will be matched with $1 million in funding from the State of Alaska as part of a larger project to provide water and sewer throughout Eek. David Beveridge, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering Director of Project Management, traveled to the community following the funding announcement and was able to meet with the ANTHC Superintendent, ANTHC field staff and the local crews. While reviewing the construction efforts, Beveridge said, “I was reminded how much effort it takes to complete a project. It is good to connect what we do in the office with what gets done in the field. There are so many people that touch a project, from securing funds, writing documents, designing, surveying, drawing, setting up the finances, ordering, purchasing, paying bills, shipping, constructing, keeping equipment running, educating, training, etc. It turns out to be an incredible amount of teamwork and planning to build these projects.” ANTHC is pleased to partner with communities in finding and developing solutions for water and sanitation projects that expand regular access to clean water for community health. Our Environmental Health and Engineering staff approach to projects involves developing strong community relationships and training a local workforce to create ownership in the project. The project in Eek is on track to start delivering water to the first phase of homes in the summer of 2017.