December 19, 2000

Percent of homes in rural Alaska with access to running water and sewer increases to 69 percent – a 3 percent increase since last year.

With continued funding and completion of projects underway that figure will increase to 84 percent by 2003.

Saying that good progress continues to be made, Governor Tony Knowles applauded the Governor’s Council on Rural Sanitation for its work towards putting the honeybucket in the museum.

One of the governor’s top priorities when he was elected was making sure all Alaskans have access to running water and flush toilets and he set up the Council on Rural Sanitation in 1995 to chart a course to achieve that goal. In 1998, the council adopted an Action Plan – a map for putting the honey bucket in a museum by the year 2005. State and federal agencies have been following that map. The Council meets once each year to check progress and to identify any problems.

"The dream is becoming reality – 69 percent today, 84 percent by 2003," said Knowles. "These results protect Alaska families and create jobs. Effective water and sewer projects decrease the risk of illness, create jobs and boost our economy."

Deborah B. Sedwick, Commissioner of the Department of Community and Economic Development agreed. "There are great opportunities for economic growth in rural Alaska, but the economic boost will not reach its full potential until there is an infrastructure to support it-and that is what these projects provide. I am glad to be a part of it."

Today the Council is looking at what progress has been made since the plan was released and reflect on what is going well and why, as well as how to improve in all areas of the action plan. The essential questions will be- How are we doing? Where can we do better?

Council co-chair Robert Beans from Mountain Village put it this way. "We are making progress and the proof is in the many rural homes where clean water is just a turn of the tap away. However, the hardest part will be getting water to the remaining 16 percent of the homes in rural Alaska. These are the small communities-the hardest to reach but we as a council will give the energy it takes to finish the journey and protect our village way of life."

Council member Ginny Tierney is ready for the task, "The last pieces of any project take the most energy to complete. We need to recognize that and ramp up to reach our goal. We are still on target to eliminate the honey bucket in four years and we will be successful in reaching the end of this journey."

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Deputy Commissioner Kurt Fredriksson adds, "In addition to getting new water and sewer systems in, up and running, we need to safeguard our investments by helping communities operate existing systems. The Governors budget includes new federal funding that will allow us to expand our operator training and assistance program statewide, including for the first time the Aleutian and Pribilof Island communities. This program – the Remote Maintenance Worker program – provides over-the-shoulder and emergency assistance to water and sewer system operators in small, remote communities."

The benefits don't stop in rural Alaska. Audits of sanitation projects show that between 50 and 85 cents of every dollar spent on sanitation projects for rural Alaska are actually spent in our urban centers – for materials, for freight, for professional services.

Established by Governor Knowles in 1995, the Council is a twenty-member team, which includes representatives of state and federal agencies, Native and rural organizations, public officials, and members of the public. The Council’s function is to develop, coordinate, and monitor implementation of a comprehensive plan for safe water and adequate sewage disposal for rural Alaskans.

For more information contact Charles Fedullo at 269-3784 or Dan Easton at 465-5135.