49–010 

Calendar No. 271 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 109–170 

ALASKA WATER RESOURCES ACT OF 2005 

OCTOBER 27, 2005.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1338] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1338) to require the Secretary of the Interior, 

acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States 

Geological Survey, to conduct a study on groundwater resources in 

the State of Alaska, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

On page 2, lines 12 through 14, strike ‘‘in the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’’ and insert ‘‘and in 

the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 

the city of Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks Northstar Borough’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 1338 is to require the Secretary of the Interior, 

acting through the Bureau of Reclamation and the United States 

Geological Survey, to conduct a study on groundwater resources in 

the State of Alaska, and a survey of water treatment needs and potential technologies. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Alaska has more than 3 million lakes, of which only 100 or so 

are larger than 10 square miles. The State also has more than 

12,000 rivers, including 10 major ones (Yukon, Porcupine, 

Koyukuk, Kuskokwim, Tanana, Innoko, Colville, Noatak, Kobuk 

and Birch Creek), along with thousands of streams, creeks and 

2 

ponds. Combined, these water bodies comprise approximately onethird of all the fresh water found in the United States. 

From early spring with the ice breakup, to fall with its heavy 

rains, Alaskans are subject to substantial flood threats. For example, the Yukon, which originates in western Canada, runs 1,400 

miles and discharges from 25,000 cubic feet of water per second in 

early spring to more than 600,000 cubic feet per second in May 

during the spring thaw. Despite these flood threats, Alaska has 

fewer than 100 stream gauging stations operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)—less than 10 percent of the stream flow information available to other States. Alaska averages one working 

gauge for each 10,000 square miles. In contrast, States in the Pacific Northwest average one gauge for each 365 square miles. To 

equal the Pacific Northwest, Alaska would require over 1,600 total 

gauge sites. 

Alaska also has the Nation’s least modern and undeveloped potable water distribution system. Water for rural Alaska towns comes 

mostly from surface water sources—which are prone to freezing, resulting in both supply and storage problems. Such surface water 

sources are also vulnerable to water-borne contaminants, including 

wildlife fecal matter, human waste from inadequate or nonexistent 

sewage treatment facilities, and natural mineral deposits (natural 

arsenic levels in mineralized zone creeks frequently exceed Environmental Protection Agency standards). Other areas, such as the 

densely populated ‘‘Railbelt,’’ rely on groundwater sources. However, there is limited knowledge of the nature and extent of the 

aquifers that support those critical groundwater supplies, a problem exacerbated by extensive permafrost. 

According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the State has about 16,000 homes in 71 Native villages that 

are not served by piped water or enclosed water haul systems. 

There are still 55 villages in Alaska where up to 29 percent of the 

residents are not served by sanitary water systems, with more than 

60 percent of residents not being served in 16 villages. 

In order to plan effectively for these locations, better information 

as to the availability and extent of the water supply is needed, 

along with an analysis of new technologies that could be used for 

water system installations, including possible desalination for some 

island and coastal communities. The studies authorized by S. 1338 

will help Alaska to plan and design water systems and transportation infrastructure and better prepare for floods and summer 

wildfires. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1338 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on June 29, 2005 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

The Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 1338 on 

July 12, 2005. At the business meeting on September 28, 2005, the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1338 favorably reported, with an amendment. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on September 28, 2005, by unanimous vote of a 

3 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1338, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

An amendment was adopted to include the city of Fairbanks and 

the Fairbanks Northstar Borough in the study. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 sets forth the short title. 

Section 2 sets forth definitions. 

Section 3 (a) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Director of the USGS to 

conduct water studies in the State of Alaska. These studies include 

a survey of accessible water supplies, including aquifers, on the 

Kenai Peninsula, in the Municipality of Anchorage, the 

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the city of Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks Northstar Borough; a survey of water treatment needs and 

technologies, including desalination treatment; and a review of the 

need for enhancement of the National Streamflow Information Program administered by the USGS as it relates to critical water 

needs such as infrastructure risk to State transportation, flood 

forecasting, resource extraction, and fire management. 

Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of the Interior to report the 

results of these studies to the Senate Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources and the House Resources Committee within two 

years of the Act’s enactment. 

Section 4 authorizes such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

the Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

S. 1338—Alaska Water Resources Act of 2005 

S. 1338 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study of water resources in five areas of Alaska. The study, to be 

completed within two years of the bill’s enactment, would include 

a survey of accessible water supplies and water treatment needs. 

Based on the cost of similar studies, CBO estimates that carrying 

out the proposed study would cost the department about $8 million 

over the next two years, assuming appropriation of the necessary 

amounts. Enacting S. 1338 would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

S. 1338 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

4 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 1338. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 1338, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 

Subcommittee hearing on S. 1338 follows: 

STATEMENT OF LESLIE HOLLAND-BARTELS, UNITED STATES

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

S. 1338, THE ‘‘ALASKA WATER RESOURCES ACT OF 2005’’

S. 1338 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, to conduct a study on 

ground-water resources in the State of Alaska. The role 

identified for the Department in this bill is consistent with 

BOR and USGS’s leadership role in monitoring and assessing ground-water resources. 

The bill requires a study that includes a survey of accessible water supplies (including aquifers on the Kenai Peninsula, in the municipality of Anchorage and the 

Matanuska-Susitna Borough), and a review of the need for 

enhancement of the streamflow information collected by 

the USGS in Alaska relating to critical water needs. 

The USGS has a long history of conducting groundwater assessments on both a local and regional scale. In 

the 1950s and 1960s studies were conducted across the nation to provide a basic understanding of geohydrologic conditions at a county-level scale and, in the 1980s, 25 regional aquifer systems were studied in detail. However, 

Alaska was not covered in these studies. As a result, basic 

geohydrologic information is needed in Alaska so that specific resource management questions can be addressed. 

Congress directed the USGS in their fiscal year 2002 appropriation to ‘‘. . . prepare a report to describe the scope 

and magnitude of the efforts needed to provide periodic assessments of the status and trends in the availability and 

use of freshwater resources.’’ That report, USGS Circular 

1223, states that ground-water levels should be based on 

repeated observations at relatively large numbers of observation wells in a wide range of representative 

hydrogeologic environments, and we continue to work toward that goal. 

Many Alaska citizens depend on good quality ground 

water for domestic consumption and other uses. However, 

reliable assessments of ground-water availability and quality are limited for expanding population areas such as the 

Municipality of Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 

5 

Fairbanks-North Star Borough, and the MatanuskaSusitna Borough. In many of these areas, individual wells 

supply homes and businesses with drinking water, and 

wastewater is disposed of through onsite septic systems. 

As populations and development activities on the surrounding landscape increase in these areas, additional consumption and demand on these aquifers is coupled with an 

increased risk of ground-water contamination. Specific 

knowledge of the aquifer properties will support proper 

planning to protect the ground water from potential contamination and to ensure there is an adequate supply and 

recharge needed for both domestic and industry related 

consumption. 

For example, recent observations have been made of elevated nitrate concentrations in drinking water in parts of 

the Municipality of Anchorage and the Fairbanks-North 

Star Borough. Arsenic concentrations in some shallow 

aquifers in the Fairbanks-North Star and Kenai Peninsula 

Boroughs exceed the new EPA maximum contaminant 

level standards. The information collected under this legislation would allow for the determination of sources of 

water to these wells, and for the identification of geochemical conditions that may contribute to these elevated 

concentrations and provide a basis for mitigation. 

Ground water is also important to sustaining streamflow 

during times of low precipitation and surface runoff. Alaska’s world-renowned salmon fisheries are economically important to the State and to local communities. Salmon that 

spawn in streams throughout the State incubate eggs in 

the streambed gravels where infiltrating ground water 

sustains eggs during dry periods. Activities that disrupt 

the interaction between ground water and streams may 

have adverse effects on these fisheries. For example, increased withdrawals of ground water may lower water tables sufficiently that the connection to the streambed is 

lost. A lowered ground-water table in Juneau through natural geologic processes is likely responsible for the 

dewatering of some small streams that formerly supported 

significant runs of salmon. Current information on the 

interaction between ground water and streams is lacking 

for important salmon spawning areas in the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna Boroughs. 

Moreover, Alaska has abundant energy resources, including oil, natural gas, coal, and coalbed methane, the development of which may require the use or disposal of 

large amounts of ground water. Recent interest in the development of coalbed methane in the Matanuska-Susitna 

and Kenai Peninsula Boroughs highlights the need for detailed knowledge about ground-water resources. Resource 

managers need to understand the connections among 

aquifers to assess consequences of large scale dewatering 

of the coal aquifers. The USGS has conducted detailed 

studies related to development of coalbed methane in Wyoming and Montana, but not yet in Alaska. 

6 

Infrastructure expansion is also necessary to support expanding populations. Gravel used in construction material 

may be available locally, but removal of gravels may alter 

ground-water flow patterns in shallow aquifers. Gravel extraction and its potential effect on ground water has been 

a focus of attention for citizens in the Municipality of Anchorage, in the Homer/Anchor Point area of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, and in the Fairbanks-North Star Borough. Shallow gravel deposits are often the aquifers that 

provide drinking water for individual residents and small 

communities, yet little information exists on the extent of 

these aquifers or alternative water supplies. 

Other types of resource extraction, such as development 

of world-class mineral deposits are ongoing or planned in 

Alaska. Newly discovered deposits, such as the Pebble 

gold-copper project near Iliamna, Alaska are in areas 

where minimal information exists on water resources. The 

Pebble gold-copper project is in the headwaters of salmon 

and trout fisheries important to subsistence users. An assessment of water resources that results in predictive models describing interactions between ground water and surface water will allow developers and regulators to evaluate 

alternative designs for development and operation of the 

project. The USGS has extensive experience in conducting 

detailed studies of hydrologic and water-quality conditions 

on such a scale. The National Water-Quality Assessment 

(NAWQA) Program has provided valuable information on 

major river basins and aquifer system in the nation. One 

NAWQA study area was located in Alaska and included 

the Municipality of Anchorage and parts of the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna Boroughs. 

S. 1338 also requests ‘‘a review of the need for enhancement of the streamflow information collected by the USGS 

in Alaska relating to critical water needs.’’ The USGS’s 

program review process focuses on program relevancy, 

quality, and performance. 

The USGS has a program in place that can assist in developing data for this task. National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP) is currently operating 18 gages to 

provide surface water information. In 2004, 6.4 million 

acres of land, an area about the size of New Hampshire, 

were consumed by fire. While the four streamgages operated by the USGS within the burn area provided critical 

information, local land managers realized that they lacked 

sufficient credible stream data to assess watershed effects 

of fire on hydrologic response and recovery. This information will also assist in protecting life and property from 

flooding events caused, for example, by outburst floods on 

glacier-dammed lakes, and would allow the National 

Weather Service to do river and flood forecasting statewide 

with an appropriate level of certainty. 

The USGS in Alaska also works closely with a broad 

spectrum of partners, including other federal agencies, 

State and local agencies, and Alaska Native villages. Over 

$1.2 million dollars in federal cost share funds were used 

7 

to partner with State and local agencies in jointly funding 

critical hydrologic information for their specific agency 

needs in 2005. For example, the USGS has a long-term relationship with most of these partners such as the Alaska 

Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough. We expect these relationships to continue. 

Finally, also within the Department, the U.S. Bureau of 

Reclamation’s Science and Technology Program finds solutions to complex water management challenges through research and development of state-of-the-art technology. 

Reclamation operates a network of automated hydrologic 

and meteorologic monitoring stations located throughout 

the Pacific Northwest. This network and its associated 

communications and computer systems are collectively 

called Hydromet. Remote data collection platforms transmit water and environmental data via radio and satellite 

to provide cost-effective, near-real-time water management 

capability. 

The expertise of these two Departmental bureaus is 

highly relevant to the tasks contemplated by the legislation. However, the Department is concerned with the funding requirements that accompany S. 1338. We note that 

there are no funds in the Department’s FY 2006 budget to 

implement the legislation, and any future funding would 

have to compete with other priority projects for funds. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1338, as ordered reported. 

Æ