Anchorage Assembly Infrastructure, Enterprise, and Utility Oversight Committee Meeting - August 20, 2026

The Infrastructure, Enterprise, and Utility Oversight Committee of the Anchorage Assembly met on August 20, 2026, from 11:16 AM to approximately 12:20 PM. The committee received presentations on three major topics: winter system emergencies in the water and wastewater utility, updates on the Port of Alaska, and a financial outlook for Solid Waste Services. No public testimony was taken and no votes were held.

Discussion Items

Winter System Emergencies in Water and Wastewater

• AWWU Operations and Maintenance Director Brian Boss presented an analysis of the 2025-2026 winter's impacts. Although no temperature or snowfall records were broken, persistent cold temperatures combined with very low snowfall (especially in spring) drove frost depth deeper than normal, reaching up to 11 feet in some locations.
• Customer frozen service calls reached approximately 240-250, dwarfing the previous high of under 100 in 2019-2020, constituting over three times the normal volume. Customers faced weeks to a month without water due to private thawing company backlogs. AWWU charged customers roughly $250 for locate and continuity tests.
• Emergency excavation complexity increased: AWWU performed 83 digs (vs. 220 in 2021-2022) but spent more overtime hours per dig because excavations required deep trench shoring, fresh air pumping, and warming stations. Many repairs were deferred to summer, including over half of normal hydrant repairs. One Kendall Ford water main break remains unrepaired due to backlog.
• For the first time in over 20 years, three frozen water mains occurred within days of each other in late March. Two in downtown, one in South Anchorage (11 feet deep, ~1,000 feet of main; took March 31 to April 9 to thaw). The curling club and John Deere dealership also had frozen mains, each taking weeks to resolve.
• Frozen sanitary sewer mains increased: the routine weekly icing of 18 sewer segments was doubled to twice per week, committing two out of three crews and reducing emergency response flexibility. A frozen main in Girdwood caused a sanitary sewer overflow into a home; another at Huffman Cars caused a backup.
• Equipment and safety challenges included an excavator claw breaking due to frozen ground, and workers suffering from cold so severe they could not speak clearly. Crews worked up to 30 consecutive hours.
• Lessons learned and planned actions: develop customer education on deep freeze response, improve data collection forms, purchase additional thawing equipment, and consider tariff modifications to waive dispatch fees during emergencies. Staffing was noted as potentially insufficient.
• Members discussed thawing responsibility (customer-owned), marking service locations, best practices from Fairbanks, insulation standards, and the impact of freeze-thaw cycles on cast iron pipe.

Port of Alaska Update

• Port Director Terry Emmetum and Jacobs Program Manager Eric Adams reported on three items headed to the Assembly in September 2026:
  • Terminal 1 designer of record change order authority for $2.1 million (GHD WSP).
  • Acceptance of FY2025 PIDP grant of $4.725 million for the petroleum terminal replacement.
  • ATT lease extension at 505 East Platte Drive, adding two five-year renewal options through 2041 at fair market rent.
• Construction progress: pile installation averaging one per day, demolition of old dock nearly complete, deep soil mixing 85% done for Terminal 1. North Extension Helipad project proposals received; construction in 2027. Terminal 2 design at 35% with stakeholder review in October.
• Chair Baldwin Day previewed a future presentation on the port's grant strategy and plan of finance, noting that all federal and state funding offsets tariff costs for Alaskan communities.

Solid Waste Services Financial Outlook

• Solid Waste Services Director Kelly Toth and Raftelis consultant Terry Bovri presented an updated 10-year financial forecast comparing actuals to 2021 projections. Inflation, regulatory drivers, and capital needs have created pressures.
• The disposal fund shows a roughly $5 million shortfall in FY2026 compared to projections, driven by indirect costs, labor, and professional services. The collection fund has a smaller gap. Capital needs over the current five-year period have increased from $35 million (2021 forecast) to $53 million.
• No rate request was made at this meeting. Staff will analyze audited FY2025 financials (expected in 1-2 months) before considering rate adjustments, potentially in 2027. A recommendation to change the self-haul recycling/healthy spaces surcharge from a flat fee to a percentage-based fee to improve equity is being developed.
• Members asked no questions; the chair noted the presentation was informational.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes or decisions were made during the meeting.
• The Port of Alaska will bring three items to the Assembly in September 2026.
• Solid Waste Services will return with further financial data and potential rate recommendations in the coming months.