Governor Ralph DLG. Torres, through the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) and the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (NMHC), announces the beginning of the initial phase of three (3) water tank replacement projects for the islands of Saipan and Tinian as part of resiliency efforts in the event of a major disaster, as well as to provide safe drinking and running water for residents.
NMHC has awarded $19.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDGB-DR) Program to CUC for these projects.
The Dandan and Kagman water tanks on Saipan will be replaced with two (2) new pre-stressed concrete 1-million-gallon (MG) tanks, while the Tinian water tank will be replaced with a new pre-stressed concrete 0.5 MG water tank. The new Dandan water tank will be able to hold 1 million gallons of water to help improve water services and provide improved water pressure to CUC customers on the Dandan Tank Service Areas (TSA), which includes Lower Dandan, As Lito, portions of Kannat Tabla, As Perdido and Koblerville areas.
The Dandan and Kagman water tanks will serve approximately 20,000 individuals, while the Tinian water tank will serve the entire population of Tinian.
Additionally, these new water tank replacement projects will provide a steady supply of safe water by removing the existing metal glassed fused water tanks that are prone to damages from typhoon force winds, as well as high corrosion that form the high salinity levels in the ground water. The tank replacement projects are part of the resiliency and long-term solution to ensure CUC continues to provide safe drinking water to the public especially after a major typhoon event.
“Resiliency is our story and has been the goal of our recovery, so that we can rebuild our infrastructure and provide our people with better services even during disasters. These projects will provide Saipan and Tinian residents with better water services than ever before and will ensure that clean and safe water is pumped into every home covered by these tanks. I thank CUC and NMHC, most notably Executive Director Camacho and Corporate Director Palacios and their staff for their hard work and dedication. This is exciting news, and I look forward to providing more updates to our community,” said Governor Ralph DLG. Torres.
“CUC is looking forward to begin the projects and will be working closely with NMHC to complete these disaster-related recovery projects for the betterment of the community and to continue to provide safe drinking water for customers. CUC extends its appreciation to Governor Torres and his administration for their continued support for resiliency improvements for critical infrastructure,” said CUC Executive Director Gary Camacho.
“NMHC appreciates Governor Torres and his administration for prioritizing projects that are critical to our communities’ resiliency and to be better prepared for disasters. CUC and NMHC have been working closely together to ensure that the intergovernmental agreement has been executed, and the environmental reviews have been completed in order to receive the official authority to use the CDBG-DR funds for this important service,” said NMHC Corporate Director Jesse Palacios.
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