Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AK_2025_001

Treading Water: Navigating Trust and Insecurity in Fairbanks' Water Systems

Institute: Alaska
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $46,403 Total Non-Federal Funds: $47,448

Principal Investigators: Melina Arciniega

Project Summary: Fairbanks, Alaska, faces challenges to water quality and quantity due to a growing infrastructure and population. Residents are sometimes confronted with concerns about the safety and abundance of the water that they require to live happy, healthy lives. Understanding decision-making processes for water use can help identify barriers that people might have when trying to obtain enough high quality water and may provide guidance for local policy. This research will explore how people form opinions about their water?whether they trust public systems or prefer alternative. sources?and how these perceptions shape their daily lives in the Fairbanks area. Patterns may be found in water trust and scarcity experiences, ultimately providing insights that can help improve public confidence while simultaneously guiding sustainable water use. The findings from this study will be shared with local governments, environmental organizations, and the general public to support better water management practices.