Ritter Troy L
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage 99508, USA.
J Environ Health. 2007 Apr;69(8):50-5, 56, 58.
While providing water and wastewater services in rural Alaska has traditionally been difficult, the task has become even more challenging in the new millennium. A combination of factors has increased the cost and complexity of water and wastewater systems while leaving residents with diminished ability to pay for services. Alaskans may be better able to meet these challenges by learning more about and adopting some approaches used in similar regions. In March 2005, the author visited six communities in the Canadian Northwest Territories (NWT). Made possible by NEHA's Sabbatical Exchange Ambassador Award, these visits provided the author an opportunity to learn about the NWT approach to providing water and wastewater services. He then compiled comprehensive descriptions of each region's service delivery model. Comparisons were made, and features of interest were identified and used to develop recommendations for improving service delivery in rural Alaska.
传统上，在阿拉斯加农村地区提供供水和污水处理服务一直很困难，而在新千年，这项任务变得更具挑战性。多种因素共同作用，增加了供水和污水处理系统的成本与复杂性，同时居民支付服务费用的能力却有所下降。阿拉斯加人或许可以通过更多地了解并采用一些类似地区所使用的方法，更好地应对这些挑战。2005年3月，作者走访了加拿大西北地区（NWT）的六个社区。在国家环境卫生协会（NEHA）的休假交流大使奖的支持下得以成行，这些走访让作者有机会了解西北地区提供供水和污水处理服务的方法。随后，他编写了每个地区服务提供模式的全面描述。进行了比较，确定了感兴趣的特点，并据此为改善阿拉斯加农村地区的服务提供提出建议。
