Prison site ‘gushes' with water

March 16, 2007

By Russell Stigall

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Point MacKenzie is flush with water.

And that's important, since the proposed Mat-Su medium security prison will need plenty of the wet stuff to fill drinking glasses, toilets and shower rooms for as many as 2,251 inmates.

Finding large quantities of potable water was the last hurdle to begin design on the $300 million prison in the Point Mac area.

Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the firm in charge of the prison project, needed to know the Point Mac site would suffice before it proceeded with design.

Slated to begin construction late this year, the prison will occupy approximately 200 acres north of Alsop Road, 9 miles from Port MacKenzie.

The water was found in an aquifer 415 feet below the Point Mac site, according to a news release from the Mat-Su Borough.

The well supplied pumps with 16,000 gallons of water an hour for 10 hours. In this time, the well drew down 25 feet. However, it took only five minutes for the well to replenish, the release stated.

A single prisoner uses about 110 gallons of water per day, according to the borough. At full capacity, the Point Mac prison would use about 250,000 gallons per day. This amount will require up to three wells with larger casings and pumps than those used in the test well.

With two to three wells, the needs of inmates can be met with an extra supply for redundancy and emergency use.

The well test was conducted by Tryck Nyman Hayes and Ace Water Wells.

Ron Swanson, borough director of community development, said Alaska Housing's next step is to design the most efficient placement of the prison on the site.

Timber on the prison site still needs to be cut and removed, Swanson said.

Harvesters will have more time since the project has been delayed for various reasons. Valuable timber will be available to the public or will be used commercially.

&#8220It will not be cut and buried,” Swanson said.

Water quality test firm Shannon and Wilson has provided preliminary results for water quality tests.

The results show nothing outside normal variations for the Mat-Su area, according to the borough.

Salt found in the water source is treatable with a reverse osmosis process, the borough news release stated.

The water also will need treatment for arsenic levels that are higher than EPA standards.

Such treatment is not unusual for commercial and public facilities throughout the

borough.

Lynn Lowman with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Drinking Water Program regulates public water systems.

&#8220It's not uncommon to find arsenic in groundwater here,” Lowman said.

&#8220It is best described as fine gold dust in various pockets in the substrata.”

For more information about the Mat-Su medium security prison project, interested people can visit the borough Web site at www.matsugov.us.

Contact Russell Stigall at 352-2267 or russell.stigall@frontiersman.com.