PAUL WALTON SR.

“My parents were pastors. We moved all around the region and settled here. I have three boys ages 25, 16, and 10. We spread them apart. I work here at the water plant. I oversee all the chemicals and pump work, I do everything in here. I have four systems continuously circulating so they don’t freeze up. I am getting water from the well next to the river, then it goes through my green sand filter, and then it goes through the chemical feeds. The state allows .3 turbidity and I make my water at .025, way below the state's minimum. The water is so pure. I have been doing this for 20 some years. Ever since we built this place in 1992 or 1994, I have stayed here. The water comes from the river. It’s ground water under the influence of surface water. I have wells 45 feet deep. The village uses about 25 to 30 thousand gallons a day. I make that much water.” — Paul Walton Sr. is Inupiaq and lives in Noatak, Alaska.