The project is to remove about 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment
San Juan, Puerto Rico –The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the obligation of a federal share of nearly $88.7 million to dredge the Carraízo Reservoir. The project under the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) will allow a greater water reserve for a large part of the population of the metropolitan and eastern areas of Puerto Rico, particularly during drought seasons.
The dredging will entail the removal of some 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir and the removed material will be transferred to three dikes. The remaining water will be transferred back to the reservoir and, once dry, the sediment will be used to recover the vegetation of the area through seeds or replanting, according to the corresponding regulations.
A comprehensive environmental assessment was conducted for this project, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to analyze the potential impacts of these works. The assessment — developed by FEMA and PRASA personnel — was available for public review and comment for 30 days, and the agency determined that the project will not have adverse effects on the environment.
“We know that this project is vital to providing a service as essential as water, while supporting health in general and economic development. This is one of several projects that we evaluate under the environmental and historic preservation regulations, which seek to guarantee a compliant and long-term recovery,” explained Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator José Baquero.
The Carraízo Reservoir serves the Sergio Cuevas Water Treatment Plant, which provides service to some 492,000 consumers in the municipalities of Caguas, Gurabo, Juncos, Las Piedras, San Juan, San Lorenzo and parts of Trujillo Alto. Carraízo supplies some 90 million gallons of water per day to its customers.
PRASA Executive President Doriel Pagán Crespo said, "The dredging of Carraízo is a priority project, not only for the agency, but also for the Governor. This project seeks to increase the storage volume by approximately 528 million gallons. The planning and design process, as well as the environmental compliance process, has been one of close collaboration with FEMA and the government's Recovery Office (COR3), where we are finally seeing the accomplishments achieved. The project will have a construction cost of approximately $93 million and work will begin during the first quarter of 2023. The work will last for a period of two and a half years. We thank Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi, FEMA and COR3 for their availability and support throughout this process. I also thank all of PRASA's Infrastructure staff for their tireless work and commitment to this achievement.
The environmental assessment on Carraízo’s dredging
FEMA's Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) division provides specialized technical assistance to applicants on the historic and environmental compliance of projects. This is to ensure they are aligned with applicable federal laws and executive orders. Through this environmental assessment, the agency determined that the Carraízo dredging project does not have an adverse impact on the environment.
FEMA considered and responded substantial comments received during the public review period to inform the final decision on grant approval and project implementation. As part of NEPA’s regulatory requirements, on August 10, 2021, FEMA conducted a public meeting in the Valle San Luis urbanization community center, at the request of Municipality of Caguas and several community leaders, to address questions and concerns about the dredging project.
For the evaluation, PRASA carried out on sediment studies and documented the existing conditions of the reservoir dikes, pipeline alignment and the area surrounding the project. Sediment samples were collected and analyzed to identify potential contaminants that could spread if the sediments were disturbed or became airborne during dredging activities. The studies determined that the Carraízo sediments are non-hazardous.
“The dredging of the Carraízo Reservoir is a priority project of Governor Pedro Pierluisi's administration. We are grateful to FEMA for the obligation of these funds that make the execution of this important work feasible, which will be essential to continue strengthening the critical infrastructure of the aqueducts. Currently, PRASA has completed 35 reconstruction projects valued at $20.2 million. Meanwhile, another 41 permanent works are being developed with an investment of approximately $623.4 million. At COR3, we are working as a team with PRASA and FEMA to continue moving Puerto Rico's reconstruction forward,” said Manuel A. Laboy Rivera, Executive Director of the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience of Puerto Rico.
The funding approval for the Carraízo Reservoir dredging project is possible through FEMA’s Accelerated Award Strategy (FAASt). PRASA has a budget of over $3.6 billion to plan its FAASt subprojects.
To date, FEMA has obligated over $28.7 billion in Public Assistance funds for over 10,300 projects that will support the rebuilding of a Puerto Rico resilient to future natural disasters.
For more information about Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane María, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339 y recovery.pr. Follow us on social media at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico, Facebook.com/COR3pr and Twitter @COR3pr.