Diomede Sanitation Improvements ePER

Project Description

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) has received funding from the Indian Health Service to plan sanitation enhancement, such as water and wastewater improvements, to increase the community of Diomede’s level of service. This project will provide an Enhanced Preliminary Engineering Report (ePER), which is a planning document that is used to find the best construction design to remedy public health, safety, and environmental concerns. The Final ePER is in development.

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Location and Background Information

The City of Diomede is located on the western coast of Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait. Little Diomede Island is approximately 135 miles northwest of Nome and 2.5 miles east of Big Diomede Island, Russia. The international boundary lies offshore between the islands.

Accessibility to the island by helicopter is often limited due to consistent inclement weather. In 2012, Diomede was awarded grant funds to participate in the Essential Air Services Program. Weekly flights by helicopter are available, weather permitting. Due to the terrain, Little Diomede Island does not have an airstrip. The community of Wales is 28 miles by sea and residents travel by small skiff in the summer. Cargo barge stops are irregular, due to sea ice, but do deliver to Diomede annually. A network of pedestrian boardwalks and trails connect the residences to the public buildings and infrastructure.

Timeline

Phase 1: Community Engagement and Site Investigation (Winter-Spring 2023)

ANTHC has contracted with DOWL and Agnew::Beck Consulting to start the first phase, which involves an in-person community meeting and visits with individual households to share information about the alternatives that could be considered in the next phase of the project. The goal of Phase 1 is to confirm a set of alternatives that will be evaluated by the engineers in Phase 2.

Phase 2: Enhanced Preliminary Engineering Report (ePER) (Spring-Summer 2024)

In Phase 2, the Enhanced Preliminary Engineering Report (ePER) will provide more detail for each alternative about the costs to construct, maintain and repair, as well as considerations such as health benefits, impacts to lifestyle and the environment, and how much space each alternative will occupy inside buildings and around the townsite. We will continue to work with the community in Phase 2, as we share the results of the engineering studies and support the community decision-making process about which alternative to move forward with.

Phase 3: Design (2025-2026) and Phase 4: Construction (2027+)

In Phase 3, a design for the preferred alternative will be developed, and construction will take place in Phase 4. A maintenance plan and guidelines for individual households will be developed and distributed during these phases.