EPA Provides $9 Million of Drinking Water Infrastructure Funding to Two Alaska Native Villages

On Wednesday (4/28), EPA announced water infrastructure funding totaling $9 million for projects that will improve access to drinking water for the Alaska Native Villages of Tuluksak and Stebbins. The projects are funded under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act’s Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities Grant program.

EPA will award $1.5 million to the Alaska Native village of Tuluksak, a community of approximately 360 people, which had its only source of potable drinking water destroyed in a fire earlier this year. Combined with Indian Health Service funding, EPA’s WIIN grant will be used to fully fund the replacement facilities.

EPA will also award $7.5 million to Stebbins, a community of approximately 650 people. The village currently does not have a centralized drinking water or wastewater system. The $7.5 million in funding will provide a sustainable water source for the community by providing piped water service to the unserved homes in Stebbins. The water source and raw water line will provide service to the existing water treatment plant and washeteria.