Overview of environmental and hydrogeologic conditions at McGrath, Alaska

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

The remote village of McGrath along the Kuskokwim River in southwestern Alaska has long cold winters and short summers. The village is located on the flood plain of the Kuskokwim River and obtains drinking water for its 533 residents from the Kuskokwim River. Surface spills and disposal of hazardous materials combined with frequent flooding of the Kuskokwim River could affect the quality of the drinking water. Alternative drinking-water sources are available but at greater cost than existing supplies. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owns or operates airport support facilities in McGrath and wishes to consider the subsistence lifestyle of the residents and the quality of the current environment when evaluating options for remediation of environmental contamination at their facilities. This report describes the history, socioeconomics, physical setting, groundand surface-water hydrology, geology, climate, vegetation, soils, and flood potential of the areas surrounding the FAA facilities near McGrath. INTRODUCTION The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owns and (or) operates airport, support, and navigational facilities throughout Alaska. At many of these sites, fuels and potentially hazardous materials such as solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides may have been used and (or) disposed of. To determine if environmentally hazardous materials have been spilled or disposed of at the sites, the FAA is conducting environmental studies mandated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund Act) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). To complete these environmental studies, the FAA requires information on the hydrology and geology of areas surrounding the sites. This report, the product of compilation, review, and summary of existing hydrologic and geologic data by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the FAA, provides such information for the FAA facility and nearby areas at McGrath, Alaska. Also presented in this report is a description of the history, socioeconomics, and physical setting of the McGrath area