Resident Commissioner announces $17 million in federal funds that include repairs to the Guajataca dam

Madrid, Spain- The Resident Commissioner, Jenniffer González Colón, announced federal funds that amounted to $17,266,741 for repairs to the Guajataca dam, a boost to work in manufacturing, research, and environmental protection.

The United States Army Department granted a $14,294,000.00 contract to "Del Valle Group" company from Toa Baja, for work on the Guajataca Dam, which includes channel reinforcement and stability in the spillway. The work is estimated to be completed by May 2019. This dam was severely affected by the passage of Hurricane Maria; even at that time, a call was made to the eviction of residents surrounding the dam because of its possible collapse.

The National Science Foundation assigned $1,000,000.00 for the University of Puerto Rico for the project "MRI: Development--An Aerosol and Cloud Analysis System for the Caribbean, " directed by Olga Mayol-Bracero.

The project seeks to assemble a permanent and instrumented installation to study the microphysical properties of warm clouds, meaning that the clouds whose tops are at temperatures above zero degrees Celsius, and how they evolve in a complex process that It involves the aerosol particles in which the drops are formed. The clouds that are regularly formed at mountain peaks, such as "El Pico del este," provide the opportunity to study the interaction between clouds and aerosols, especially in those places where aerosol properties are well known. The eastern peak has been used by some international research groups in previous measurement programs due to its unique and subtropical insular location.

For its part, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the federal Department of Commerce for the proposal of Puerto Rico manufacturing Extension, Inc. (PRiMEX), which seeks to promote well-paid jobs within the manufacturing sector, allocated $643,133.00.

Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assigned the environmental Control Board $1,329,608.00 as part of a collaboration agreement between both agencies to finance programs at the state level to protect and improve water quality in watersheds and ensure safe drinking water.