Climate Change is Worsening Water Scarcity in Rural Alaska Says Study

A recent study says climate change is worsening water scarcity in rural Alaska and a host of new strategies is needed to help address the issue, according to Eye on the Arctic.

The study also found that the warming climate’s affect on the environment was accelerating water inequalities in rural Alaska. Permafrost thaw is causing breaks in existing pipes. The shifting and sinking land is also allowing salt water intrusion into the fresh water lakes and rivers that many Indigenous Alaskans depend on.

“Inadequate water access has been a persistent issue in more than 200 rural Alaskan communities, whose residents are primarily Alaska Native people,” the study said.

The World Health Organization says that 20 liters of water per person per day is the minimum quantity needed for essential health and hygiene.

In rural Alaska, homes without piped water averaged far below that at 5.7 liters of water per person per day. This is also far below the average elsewhere in the United States where people average 302–379 litres of water per person per day.