The City of Kotzebue is being sued over sewer and water infrastructure problems that caused raw sewage to flood some homes in 2024.
Four Kotzebue residents filed suit in Kotzebue Superior Court on Jan. 21. They allege the city failed to provide “safe, effective and sanitary” water and sewer to its residents, which the lawsuit describes as a breach of contract.
In February 2024, about 800 Kotzebue residents lost water in their homes and about two dozen lost sewage service when a water main froze. The outages lasted a month and a half.
The complaint blames the city, which said at the time that aging infrastructure and multiple mechanical failures contributed.
The four residents also allege that the city caused water and raw sewage to flood their homes while it was trying to fix the problem.
“They believe their situation requires some payment of money to make them whole, and that includes money for the cleanup and repair of their premises, for the disruption of their service and for the emotional distress that was caused by this very difficult situation,” said Myron Angstman, who represents the residents in the case.
Angstman’s clients are seeking up to $100,000 each for damages, court costs and attorney fees, and other relief.
After the freeze-up, the state authorized funds to cover service line repairs, but those funds did not cover damage inside homes.
Joe Evans, the attorney for the City of Kotzebue, said the city had not been formally served with the complaint, but he expects to recieve the formal complaint and a summons next week.
A date has not been set for a court hearing.
