Governor's budget includes $5 million for Wrangell dam repairs

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed state budget for legislative consideration starting in January includes $5 million to strengthen the century-old earthen dams that contain Wrangell’s water reservoirs.

The state grant would pay to “reinforce both these dams with buttresses,” likely concrete, Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma said Dec. 15.

The governor released his version of the budget on Dec. 14. Lawmakers will reconvene in Juneau on Jan. 16, with the state spending plan likely to dominate the 121-day session.

Villarma and other borough officials discussed the condition of the dams with the governor when he was in Wrangell the day after the deadly Nov. 20 landslide.

“No. 1 was the dam,” Villarma said of the borough’s request list for state funding. Next on the list is money to repair and rebuild the rot-damaged Public Safety Building, followed by repairs and improvements to all three school buildings.

A total rebuild of the dams that contain the town’s two water reservoirs would cost tens of millions of dollars, and Villarma said the borough will continue to seek federal aid for the larger project.

A contractor has drilled into the earthen dams and determined they are solid enough that additional buttressing to strengthen the structures would add to their longevity, the manager said.

If lawmakers approve the governor’s request, the money could be available as soon as spring, with design work and engineering needed before the job could go out to bid. Villarma estimated actual construction could come in 2025 or 2026.

The original water reservoir was built in 1905, “and is classified as poor and the hazard potential high,” according to a write-up presented with the budget proposal from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report in 2006 determined that 15 homes could be in the path if water from one of the reservoirs broke through the dam. The reservoirs are located uphill in the area of Heritage Harbor and City Park.

The state grant would be the second large chunk of government funding for the town’s fresh water supply. Last year, the federal government awarded Wrangell a $2.08 million grant to build a pipeline connection between the upper reservoir and the town’s water treatment plant.

The new pipe will allow direct access to the upper reservoir, rather than the current system which only allows drawing from the lower reservoir that is fed by a ditch from the upper water source.