AVEC Facilities: Pilot Station

AVEC Facilities

Pilot Station

Original power plant

Pilot Station is located on the northwest bank of the Yukon River, 11 miles east of St. Mary's and 26 miles west of Marshall on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The village was first called "Ankachak," and later was moved one-third of a mile upriver to a site called "Potiliuk." The old village site of Kurgpallermuit is located nearby. This village is a designated historic place -- it was occupied during the bow and arrow wars between the Yukon and Coastal Eskimos. According to locals, the Chevak and Pilot Station people periodically fought when the coastal people traveled up the Kashunak River. A Russian Orthodox Church was built in the early 1900s, and is one of the oldest structures in the region. R.H. Sargent of the U.S. Geological Survey first noted the village name of Pilot Station in 1916. Local riverboat pilots who used the village as a checkpoint were responsible for this name change. The community incorporated as a second-class city in 1969.

Tank farm

Preparing to install a new fuel-efficient engine

The new fuel-efficient engine after installation.

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Pilot Station Facts

Community Profile

Current Population: 574
# of Consumers: 163
Incorporation Type: 2nd Class City
Total Generating Capacity (kw): 1,210

Community Facilities

More than half of the community is served by a piped water and sewer system and are fully plumbed.
Other homes haul treated well water and honeybuckets.
A new water source, a water treatment plant, a 200,000-gallon water storage tank, and water and sewer main repairs are under construction
Gravel airstrip
Barge service during the summer
One school
Local health clinic
Sub-Regional Clinic in St. Mary's.

Economy

Most of the year-round employment is with the school and City government. 56 residents hold commercial fishing permits. Incomes are supplemented by subsistence activities. Salmon, moose, bear, porcupine and waterfowl are harvested. Trapping and BLM fire fighting also provide income. Cargo, passengers and mail arrive by air.

Culture and Activities

A federally-recognized tribe is located in the community -- the Pilot Station Traditional Council. Pilot Station is a Yup'ik Eskimo village dependent upon a fishing and subsistence lifestyle. Pilot Station is easily accessible by river-going vessels. Skiffs and snowmobiles provide inter-village transportation. There are no roads to surrounding communities.

Climate

Maritime climate
Snowfall averages 60 in/yr
Precipitation averages 16 in/yr
Temperatures can range from -44 to 83
Heavy winds of up to 50 MPH are common during fall and winter
The Lower Yukon is ice-free from mid-June through October.

Community Weather

Few clouds, 48°F

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative

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