Recently, ANTHC construction crews installed a new ocean sewer outfall on the coast of Sand Point in the Aleutians East Borough. A sewer outfall is a large pipe anchored to the bottom of the ocean that disperses treated sewage a safe distance away from a community. Built in the 1980s, Sand Point’s original outfall anchors failed and caused it to float twice, making replacement necessary. Typically, outfalls are assembled 20 feet at a time on the shore from where the ...

Recent earthquake activity in Anchorage had ANMC and Anchorage residents thinking about earthquake safety. This article was pulled from the Mukluk Telegraph archives. When it opened on November 29, 1953, the Anchorage Medical Center of the Alaska Native Service was the largest civilian building in Alaska. The hospital experienced a great deal of change in its first 11 years in downtown Anchorage, but few things altered the facility more dramatically than the 9.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Alaska on Good Friday ...

A team from ANTHC Tribal Utility Support recently traveled to Gulkana to fix several problems with the water treatment system that threatened the community’s ability to provide clean water. Excess sediment around the well pump was reducing the flow of river water to the water treatment plant and clogging up system equipment. In addition, an improperly installed heat tape was allowing ice to build up around the pipe that carries the water from the river to the plant. Both conditions ...

The average person spends approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where their health can be affected by the environment around them. Moisture control and ventilation are two important aspects of maintaining healthy home air quality. When piped water is first introduced to a home, additional moisture build-up occurs, which could lead to mold growth, infrastructure damage and respiratory illnesses. In September, the ANTHC Tribal Air Quality and Healthy Homes Program collaborated with an ANTHC water service construction project in ...

The Northwest Arctic Borough recently partnered with ANTHC and the Maniilaq Association to manage a $1.8 million utility assistance program for all communities in the region. This program has reduced most residential customers’ water and sewer utility rates by about two-thirds. It is also reducing the number of water/sewer emergencies, providing training and support for operators and administrators, and making communities more competitive for construction grants. Funded by borough revenue, this program completed a joint fuel purchase for all community ...

The ANTHC Environmental Health and Engineering safety program recently completed work on a mobile app, found at https://www.excavation-safety.net, to improve excavation safety. Excavation work is a frequent part of ANTHC’s construction projects to bring water and sanitation services for the health of rural communities. ANTHC developed the application with funding from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Susan Harwood Grant, which provides funding for worker safety training across the U.S. on a competitive basis. When excavation is in progress on ...