Healthy Communities: Mertarvik relocation project
April 7, 2017
The relocation of the southwest Alaska village of Newtok to the new site of Mertarvik, nine miles downriver on Nelson Island, has been planned for many years to preserve the sustainability and safety of the community due to more frequent storm erosion damage. In fall 2016, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering became part of the relocation team and continues to be a key community partner as the project progresses.
“From the outset, our goal was gaining the trust of the people of Newtok. To best design a new community in rural Alaska, it is critical that the people of the community drive the design considerations. What’s important to them must be reflected in the new community in order to make it vibrant and healthy,” said Gavin Dixon, ANTHC Senior Project Manager.
Before beginning work, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering staff administered surveys, translated in Yup’ik or English, to adults living in the village. The surveys were designed to help provide knowledge of the village’s unique culture and lifestyle to inform the new village design. This information was used, along with coordination with dozens of state and federal agencies, to produce three alternative site layouts using innovative 3D modeling. These alternatives were presented along with the benefits and drawbacks of each, allowing the community to make an informed decision. The community selected a preferred layout in March 2017 and provided insight on ways to alter the design to best suit their culture and lifestyle. ANTHC and the village of Newtok hope that this model of community planning can be recreated to help other rural Alaska villages experiencing similar environmental challenges.
Going forward during 2017, ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering will be working on building a basemap for the community of Mertarvik; conducting geophysical analysis of the new village site; and beginning design work on potential water, sewer and solid waste infrastructure.