24 



A Commionent to Alaskans 



Urban Scraiegy 



The Sanitation Needs of Urban Communities are Dramatic. 



AGING 

 FACILmES 



POPULATION 

 GROWTH 



The immediate and long term need for increasing the availability of funds for urban 

 water, sewer, and soUd waste management projects is dramatic. During the next 

 twenty years, it is estimated that a minimum of $1 billion will be needed to plan, 

 design, construct, expand, upgrade, replace, and rehabilitate sanitation systems in 

 the State's incorporated municipalities. 



The majority of urban water, sewerage, and solid waste facilities in place today 

 were constructed between 1973 and 1985 at a cost which exceeded $750 million. 

 Since the average useful life of these facilities is 15-20 years, it is projected that 

 there will be a major demand for system replacement between 1992-2005. The 

 exact extent of these replacement costs is not yet known, however, due to inflation 

 and a variety of other economic factors, costs will exceed the first round invest- 

 ment 



Alaska is the second fastest growing State in the nation and it's highest growth rates 

 have traditionally been concentrated in incorporated communities. The population 

 in many of these communities has already increased beyond the design capacity of 

 their sanitation systems and system overload has become a serious problem. This 

 increased burden on a treatment facility shortens its useful life and can result in 

 inadequate treatment, recurring system malfunctions, or a complete system break- 

 down. New facilities need to be constructed or old facilities expanded to 

 accommodate the growing population of these communities. 



In addition to replacing aging systems and accommodating population growth, 

 local governments will soon be faced with meeting new federal drinking water and 

 solid waste standards. Complying with these new standards will require a major 

 investment in extensive system upgrades for many communities. 



NEW 



DRINKING WATER ^^ federal government has recentiy redefined safe drinking water requirements. 

 REQUIREMENTS ^^ fiscal impact of the new standards is currcntiy under review. It is known, 

 however, that a major investment will be required to bring systems into compliance 

 with new surface water filtration and lead/copper rules. 



NEW 



SOLID WASTE 



REQUIREMENTS 



Due to the expense of upgrading landfills to meet new federal requirements, many 

 cities will likely opt to close their landfills and build new ones. This will not be 

 cheap. A recent study for the Juneau landfill, for example, estimated closure costs 

 of approximately SlOmillion. When constructing new facilities, communities will 

 be required to meet federal design standards which will necessitate a substantial 

 expenditure. 



