  We report the detection of 22 GHz water vapor emission toward the starburst
galaxy NGC2146, made using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. Interferometric
observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) show that a part of the emission
originates from two prominent sites of star formation that are associated with
compact radio continuum sources, likely ultra-compact HII regions. It is
concluded that the emission arises from the most luminous and distant water
`kilomasers' detected so far. Our data increase the number of water maser
detections in northern galaxies (Dec > -30 deg) with 100 micron IRAS point
source fluxes > 50 Jy to 18%.
