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‘Failure at old reservoir could result in longer water outages’
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Posted on Apr 07 2005
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. expressed alarm that another failure at the so-called Old Hospital reservoir in As Terlaje could occur and result in a longer water supply outage, if no thorough repair was done on the one-million-gallon storage tank.
The CUC Water Division said in its March 2005 report that an engineering firm should be hired immediately to assess the tank’s lifespan and structural integrity.
“With the construction of the Kannat Tabla reservoir still another year away, and possibly more time thereafter to decommission the Old Hospital reservoir for a new tank, the division is gravely concern that another failure would occur and possibly be catastrophic in nature,” read a portion of the report.
Tano Group, which completed the temporary repair of the facility when a major leak occurred, also has recommended that CUC consider reinforcing the bottom section of the tank to prolong its lifespan and add to its structural integrity, the division said.
The Old Hospital reservoir, located at the Northern Marianas College, supplies water to Fina Sisu, Kannat Tabla, Chalan Lau Lau, Oleai, Susupe, Chalan Kanoa, and Garapan.
In service since 1970, the steel tank sprung a leak when steel panels split at the welded seams. This caused disruption in the delivery of water supply to affected villages.
CUC’s contractor repaired three sections of the reservoir in one 16-hour work shift. However, a fourth section of the tank was not repaired and will be rescheduled at a later date.
