Lessons Learned in Rural Wastewater: Anderson Wastewater System Failure

Daniel Nichols, PE, CCCA, Kuna Engineering, Anchorage, Alaska
Phone: (907)339-6500, Email: dnichols@kunaeng.com

The City of Anderson is a small rural Alaskan community north of Denali National Park. In 2014, the City completed construction of a new wastewater collection system, complete with insulated mains, services, and lift station. Immediately the system had problems with freezing requiring changes to the system. In 2021, the shallow water table began to rise significantly during the winter. Since then, the collection system has been inundated with groundwater infiltration during the winter months. In February 2023 the issue was so bad that the sewage lagoon was overtopped, and the system froze. Emergency declarations were issued by the City, Borough, and State in February 2023. Kuna was hired to quantify the problem, identify the issues, and provide recommendations. The result was a list of lessons learned that have wide application for rural wastewater systems in Alaska.