After Hurricante María, the Guajataca Dam - the most important water storage structure in the northwest of the island - was in an active state of failure as a result of the amount of water that was overflowing.
USACE coordinated with FEMA and PREPA immediately, to stop the progressive loss of the spill and possible failure. Initial emergency measures were only intended to reduce the risk of imminent dam failure. Since the dam continued to face an unacceptable risk of failure during a future natural disaster, USACE recommended additional measures.
Cortes Industrial, in coordination with USACE and PREPA, worked to rehabilitate and modernize the hydraulic system that controls the dam gates.
This way, the safety of the residents in the neighborhood located under the dam was guaranteed, and the water supply to the different AAA treatment plants was not affected.
