Bank erosion putting well and transmission line in danger

Observation by Paul Walton:

As the spring snow melt the flooding cuts away the bank more every day.

Comment by LEO Network Editors:**

We have reached out to Paul for more detail on the situation and the images he shared today. See also attached document with series of drone images from June 6, 2022. We have shared the post with some key agency partners to raise awareness while we wait for more on the situation. Over the past week we have received observations about river erosion and associated impacts from both the representatives of the Native Village of Noatak (Jeffrey Luther) and in this post, from Paul Walton, Water Operator for Noatak. As shown in the video and images about these events, Noatak is currently experiencing rapid bank erosion from the river, and critical infrastructure including the community water wells, and the road that provides access to the gravel supply are threatened. Noatak's riverbank is gradually falling into the river. Last week over 19' of bank was lost adjacent to the airport and road. The community is seeking assistance on rerouting the road and now about threats to the wells and transmission line. LEO Network hopes that our efforts providing a platform to document these impacts will be helpful. This observation has been shared with the State of Alaska, Emergency Services, Manillaq Association, the Northwest Arctic Borough, the National Weather Service (River Forecast Center), the Army Corps of Engineers, NANA and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Mike Brubaker