May 21, 2026, Seward Folly Staff

SEWARD — The Seward Small Boat Harbor has been awarded the Platinum Award by Alaska Clean Harbors, recognizing its efforts to maintain clean and environmentally responsible operations. This places Seward among the highest-ranked harbors in Alaska, along with Nome, Homer, and Valdez.

The award was presented by Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow Pax Templeton to Assistant Harbor Master Ryan Anger. Templeton noted that Seward’s staff has implemented a range of improvements, including oil collection and removal procedures, covered trash receptacles, and regular maintenance of stormwater and sewage pumpout systems. Employees are trained to follow spill prevention and response plans, and the harbor separates recyclable materials to help reduce waste disposal costs.

Certification provides harbors with several advantages, such as a stronger position when applying for state and federal grant programs and potentially lower insurance premiums. Requiring all vessels in the harbor to have insurance is another policy Seward has adopted to reduce risk and avoid costly salvage operations. Last year, Wrangell faced high costs after an uninsured vessel sank and required removal.

Seward does not yet have a boat washdown pad, due to the high cost and limited funding opportunities. Nearby, Exit Marine boatyard has introduced a policy requiring the use of vacuum sanders during painting prep work to limit the spread of toxic bottom and topside paints.

Water quality outside and inside of the harbor is monitored regularly by the Department of Conservation. Instruments record measurements such as pH, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity every 30 minutes, with data made available online through the Alaska Ocean Observing System’s Ocean Data Explorer Map Ocean Data Explorer: Map portal. This monitoring is part of a broader partnership involving the City of Seward.

DEC continues to monitor water quality for metals, ammonia, and bacteria. The data collected helps identify potential sources of pollution and seasonal variations in water quality in the Seward area. (harbors-2025-annual-summary.pdf)  

DEC has been collecting water quality samples from the area since 2020. Maryann Fidel, an Environmental Program Analyst involved in the project, reports that “All of the results to date are within ranges that we’d expect to see and are considered normal. If people would like to read more about the data collection and results over the years, the reports are posted on the DEC website at: Ambient Marine Water Quality Monitoring | AK Dept. of Environmental Conservation.”

“All parameters are below the State’s Water Quality Standards (a set threshold that contaminants ought not to exceed),” Fidel stated, adding that the parameters they are monitoring are commonly found in wastewater (sewage), and some metals can also come from hydrocarbons/fuels. “Most of what we see is likely naturally occurring in the environment, and it can be difficult to determine where a particular pollutant is coming from. Bacteria are naturally occurring in the environment from wildlife, but if they come from humans, it can be a public health concern.” She emphasized that “this makes trying to understand potential sources important and also emphasizes why using marine pump-out stations is critical in the Seward Harbor.”

Fidel complimented the Harbor’s efforts to reduce impacts to the environment and congratulated them on their recent award.