Before the water and sewer system were put into the houses people packed water from the Yukon and the spring. During winter they would also melt ice and snow.

The 1975 water and sewer project took about 3 years to build and cost around $850,000. This money came from the State and Federal Governments, with 95% being payed by the U.S. Public Health Service. While constructing the project the planners put the water plant too near the gas station. This was a very bad plan because of the possibility of contamintion as the years go by. The well was also drilled too close to the gas station which in Fall,1990, led to contamination of the aquifer and of our water with benzene. It cost the State and Federal Government $350,000 to construct a new drilling site and water line to rectify the problem.

The monthly payment for water and sewer is $35.40. Elderly people, 65 and older, pay only $7.40 a month. If customers do not pay on the first notice but pay on the second notice, they have to add a 1.5% late penalty. And if they fail to pay after the second notice the city will cut off their water and sewer until paid.

If the aquifer ever dries up and there is no water in the ground, the city will have to get water from the Yukon River. It would cost the State and Federal Government even more money to construct a water treatment plant similar to the one in Emmonak.

Person Interviewed: Richard Oney
By: Barbara Andrew