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CUC water project gets $4.5M grant funding
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded $4,518,008 to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for its water system mitigation project through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres noted that the project will better prepare the islands during times of natural disasters and emergencies and further the goals of CUC to provide for more reliable water service to the community.
“When Typhoon Soudelor hit, water service was cut off for the entire island because there was no electricity to power the pumps. FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to place generators in certain wells just to supply adequate water for our community. With this award, we are now in a better position to not only prepare for disasters, but also ensure that our community has reliable water provided to them,” Torres said.
The governor’s authorized representative, Virginia Villagomez, said the federal assistance will go a long way in helping CUC fortify its existing structures to become much more resilient.
“The project will allow for the procurement and installation of 12 pad-mounted generators to be installed at strategic sites to provide emergency backup power to 91 water wells on the island of Saipan. It includes seven new concrete structures and two hardened buildings to provide hardened housing for the new generators and accompanying electrical switchgear. It will also install hardened wind-resistant concrete poles with new power transformers. To ensure the reliability of the power supply to certain wells, the project will move electric lines from overhead to underground,” Villagomez added.
Torres commended CUC, the CNMI Capital Improvement Projects Program, and the CNMI Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for their coordination in securing the award.
“This is just one of several steps that we are taking together to address some of the operational and infrastructure challenges we face. I commend CUC, CIP, and our Hazard Mitigation team for putting together a solution so our community is more resilient and can enjoy reliable access to water in the long term,” he said.
