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Alaska Provides Opportunities and Challenges for Young Professionals
Author(s) -
Nicholson Enoch
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2010.tb10031.x
Subject(s) - water quality , agency (philosophy) , environmental planning , environmental science , disinfectant , business , water treatment , environmental resource management , operations management , environmental engineering , waste management , environmental protection , engineering , medicine , ecology , philosophy , epistemology , pathology , biology
This article discusses the author's experience working with three water utilities in Alaska to help determine the appropriate approach for compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR). Two of Alaska's unfiltered water systems, Ketchikan and Sitka, have water quality challenges that necessitated careful review of the available disinfection alternatives before a disinfectant selection was made. The third water system in the city of Kodiak has high‐quality raw water from Monashka Reservoir, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection was selected as the best treatment alternative for LT2ESWTR compliance. Additional challenges to working with Alaskan water utilities include the effects of weather on construction scheduling and planning, finding experienced contractors in remote Alaskan communities, and how inexperience working with UV systems delayed projects.