Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility (AWWU) provides public water and wastewater services to approximately 80 percent of Anchorage residents and businesses. AWWU has been providing water service to areas of South Anchorage since the 1980s. The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Planning Department predicts the area will continue to be the fastest growing district for the next 20 years. Already, there have been times when unusually warm and dry weather has prevented AWWU from meeting the water demands for the approximately 32,000 customers south of Tudor Road because of limitations in the existing water supply infrastructure. Therefore, AWWU has been steadily improving its water transmission infrastructure since the mid 1990s to improve this situation.
Water for the South Anchorage Water Improvement Projects (SAWIP) will come from the Eklutna Water Treatment Facility where it enters the large transmission mains near Muldoon Road and the Glenn Highway. From there the water is routed to the south and west throughout the Anchorage Bowl.
To best serve the water supply needs of AWWU’s South Anchorage customers within AWWU’s certificated water distribution area (See Map), the 2005 Anchorage Water Master Plan recommended two new transmission mains and two reservoir projects to connect South Anchorage to the Eklutna Lake water supply.
These projects, referred to collectively as the South Anchorage Water Improvements Projects (SAWIP), will enable AWWU to provide reliable, quality water service to South Anchorage and Southwest Anchorage for years to come.
As part of the preliminary design process for the four SAWIP projects, AWWU worked with a citizen SAWIP advisory group that represented community councils and neighborhood organizations in the project area. This group provided advice to AWWU on the locations for the projects and to provide input on community concerns. AWWU wishes to thank the advisory group for their participation and thoughtful input into the SAWIP process.
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