Regional Conference on Permafrost 2021 and the 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering
Rethinking Water and Sanitation in Challenging Environments: Lessons Learned from Installing Portable, Adaptable, Mid-Tech Household Systems
Publication: Permafrost 2021: Merging Permafrost Science and Cold Regions Engineering
ABSTRACT
Permanent water and sanitation infrastructure faces major technical and economic challenges in cold region communities because of the threats of freeze-thaw cycles, permafrost instability, and a changing climate. As a result, thousands of households suffer health and wellbeing consequences because they live without basic access to clean water, safely managed sanitation, and appropriate hygiene. In response, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has spent five years developing, piloting, and deploying portable, adaptable, mid-tech household water and sanitation systems in rural Alaskan communities that lack piped infrastructure. These portable alternative sanitation systems (PASS) work with natural freeze-thaw cycles to help households manage potable water and human waste. They can be adapted to various modes of operation based on end-user preferences and environmental conditions. These systems require little training and technical expertise to operate and maintain and can be easily moved to new locations if households have to relocate. End users have demonstrated that PASS units can be successful at providing incremental improvements in water and sanitation services to households if they are appropriately designed, installed, and supported. We evaluated function, use, and adoption of PASS units over the first year after their installation. We discuss lessons learned from deploying these innovative mid-tech systems in houses, such as the need to develop basic technical installation and operation guidance and socially appropriate trainings to ensure success of the technology. These lessons can be used to support the development of new types of adaptive and resilient infrastructure with low environmental impacts for underserved communities.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funding came from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and ANTHC. Interview data and notes were collected by Korie Hickel, Jeremey Bultmann, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Bobby Sitton, Cy Two Elk, John Street, Sylvester Swan, Bobby Petluska, and Bill Walker. Cy Two Elk and Jacqualine Schaeffer provided valuable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. Thank you to the homeowners who participated in this study and the communities that were involved in the PASS project. The communities and homeowners are anonymized here to protect their privacy. This research was reviewed and approved by the Alaska Area Institutional Review Board (#2018-03-009) and the University of Colorado Institutional Review Board (#18-0384). Community approval is required prior to publication or extensive distribution.
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Published In
Permafrost 2021: Merging Permafrost Science and Cold Regions Engineering
Pages: 302 - 316
Editor: Jon Zufelt, Ph.D., HDR Alaska
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8358-9
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Oct 21, 2021
Published in print: Oct 21, 2021
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