Improving U. S. Coast Guard Base Detachment and Air Station Borinquen’s Infrastructure Ensures Resiliency to Future Storms

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In Puerto Rico a water filter system is set up next to a small creek in an effort to assist residents several months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Credit: Sara Armas/Alamy Reportage.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria left 95 percent of Puerto Rico without power and over half of the island’s residents without drinking water. The extensive damage to the island’s U. S. Coast Guard Base Detachment and Air Station Borinquen crippled the Coast Guard’s ability to conduct primary missions – search, and rescue.

Due to the critical missions and responsibilities of U. S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, improving the base’s resiliency in preparation for future storm events is a priority.

Improving the base’s resiliency includes upgrading the infrastructure by installing larger drainage pipes, underground power lines, reserve water tanks, and power systems. Ideally, these improvements will allow the base to remain operational at least 14 days during an emergency.

ADC is leading the design-build team to replace and reconstruct the base’s 50+ year-old water and electrical systems. The new storm drainage system is designed for a 500-year storm event and has the capacity to manage up to ten times more water than the existing system.

One of the ways to improve the base’s resiliency is increasing storm drainage pipes by up to four feet in diameter.

The project team includes:

 

Graffiti on an entrance sign signals residents in need of food and water during relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

 

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