Research is being done to do it better, safer, cleaner, easier, cheaper, that is to flush the toilet in subzero weather. The state is funding research and six teams are currently working on it. Read the full story in a series called “Kick the Bucket” at KTOO.
The Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge from AKDEC on Vimeo.
Villagers and people in the water and sewer business can name dozens of ways systems have failed due to parts that shattered in the cold or components that had to be flown in from Europe and installed by a Lower 48 specialist.
Keeping it simple is not necessarily the solution when haul systems — where people pay by the gallon to get water delivered and waste picked up — leave them using as little water as possible, far below the 15 gallons a day needed for frequent hand washing. Brian Lefferts is the environmental health and engineering director at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation.
“We recognize that there are some places that the geology, the area won’t allow for piped water and sewer to the home, but that the small haul system the way it is just currently isn’t working,” said Lefferts. “So there’s a push to do research and development in that area to try to find a solution for those homes.”
Some of the push is coming from the state, which is putting up money for innovative solutions through the Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge. Bill Griffith is the Alaska Village Safe Water facilities manager.
See Full Story Here at KTOO
