Portugués Dam

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Portugués Dam

Artistic rendering of Portugues Dam
Location of Portugués Dam
Location Barrio Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°3′44″N 66°37′58″W / 18.06222°N 66.63278°W / 18.06222; -66.63278Coordinates: 18°3′44″N 66°37′58″W / 18.06222°N 66.63278°W / 18.06222; -66.63278
Purpose flood control
Status Under contruction - final phase
Construction began October 2008
Construction cost $750 million USD[1]
Owner(s) Government of Puerto Rico
Pablo Vázquez Ruiz, head resident proyect engineer

The Portugués Dam (Spanish: Represa Portugués) is a roller-compacted concrete thick arch dam that is currently (August 2013[2]) under construction on the Portugués River, three miles (5 km) northwest of the city Ponce, in Barrio Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico.[3] Construction on the dam began in April 2008, soon after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District awarded the Spanish firm Dragados USA with a $180 million contract in March 2008 to build the dam.[4]

The primary purpose of the dam is flood control and when completed, it will provide flood protection for 40,000 people and over 13,000 residential structures. The dam is the final component of the Portugués and Bucana Flood Protection Project and the first dam of its type constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the United States or Caribbean. The final cost of the dam is estimated at $375 million; 75% is funded by the U.S. Government and 25% by the Government of Puerto Rico.[5] It is the first dam ever built in the United States that uses the single-centered roller-compacted concrete thick arch technique.[1][6]

The dam is due to be inaugurated on January 28, 2014.[7] The dam is operated by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.[8]

History and construction

Portugues Dam foundation

Since the 1970s, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had been investigating a site to build the Portugués Dam. Despite the many different geographic challenges, the USACE was able to choose a suitable dam location and double-curvature thin arch dam design in the 1980s. In the 1990s, foundation test grouting and foundation curtain grouting along with the excavation of 350,000 cubic yards (270,000 m3) of material for the left and right abutments took place.[5]

When the dam was advertised for construction in 2000, only one proposal that was above government budget was received. To reduce costs, a five-year technical review program was developed in order to investigate new, cheaper designs for the dam. The program resulted in a lower cost design, switching from the double-curvature thin arch to a single-centered roller-compacted concrete thick arch. Proposals for the dam were requested in 2007 and Dragados USA was awarded with a $180 million contract in March 2008 to finish the dam project.[5]

Portugues Dam cofferdam construction

Construction on the dam began in April 2008 and will consist of five-phases:

  • Phase 1 – $24.5 M - Mobilization, clearing, quarry overburden excavation, power-line relocation
  • Phase 2 – $47.6 M - Foundation excavation, aggregate Production, dental Concrete
  • Phase 3 – $37.3 M - Aggregate production, ½ dam RCC placement
  • Phase 4 – $41.1 M - Final dam RCC placement, spillway, intake structure
  • Phase 5 – $29.7 M - Remaining items, valve house, access road, mechanical, electrical.[9]

As of March 2011, Phase 3 work was underway and the project was 48% complete. The rolled-compacted concrete production facilities had been completed, 700,500 tons of aggregate (for use in concrete) had been produced while foundation preparation continued. RCC placement was placed in 47 ft (14 m) of dam. Construction was initially expected to be completed by 2012,[10] but was later postponed until mid-2013.[1]

Dam characteristics

Artistic rendering of Portugues Dam

When completed, the Portugués Dam will be a 220 feet (67 m) high and 1,230 feet (370 m) long single-centered roller-compacted concrete thick arch. Containing 367,000 cubic yards (281,000 m3) of roller-compacted concrete, it will be 110 feet (34 m) thick at its base and 35 feet (11 m) thick at its crest. The dam will have an uncontrolled spillway center-left side, over the river bed; 21 ft (6.4 m) below the dams crest of 534.6 ft (162.9 m) above sea level. The center of the dam will straddler an intake and outlet structure which will draw water from behind the dam and discharge it into the river valley.[5]

Archeological findings

During excavation, a 130 ft × 160 ft (40 m × 49 m) Pre-Columbian era ceremonial plaza ("batey" or ball court) used by the ancient Tainos was discovered at a construction site used for disposing of the Portugués Dam's construction rubbish. A 60 ft (18 m) long row of intricately carved stones bearing petroglyphs that appeared to date to the 11th or 12th century was also discovered. Additionally, a burial ground containing 40 well-preserved sets of human remains was discovered. Fifteen percent of the site is believed to have been uncovered so far and as many as 400 bodies may be buried there. The site had been initially marked during a cultural resource survey in 1979 but excavation work in 2007 prompted the major discovery.[11]

The USACE found an alternate rubbish disposal site and performed mitigation work in order to preserve the site, adding $3 million in additional project costs. Despite objections of locals, the USACE was bound by federal law and had to transport artifacts and human remains to a federally-approved laboratory in Georgia. The artifacts and human remains will be returned to Puerto Rico when the investigation is complete. The site is covered and awaiting future excavation.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
  2. ↑ Portugues Dam Web Cams. US Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Website of the Municipality of Ponce. Descubrelo > Recursos Naturales.
  4. ↑ No se detiene la Represa Portugués. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 USACE Portugues Dam Brochure - April 2009
  6. ↑ Proyecto de año: Represa Portugues, Construccion con Ingenieria Extrema. Planos y Capacetes. May-Jun 2011. Page 10. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. ↑ A punto de caramelo la represa Portugués. Reinaldo Millán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Printed Edition: Title: A pesar del cierre federal: A punto de caramelo la represa Portugués; Date: 16 October 2013; Year: 31; Issue: 1559. Page: 20.) Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  8. ↑ A punto de caramelo la represa Portugués. Reinaldo Millán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Printed Edition: Title: A pesar del cierre federal: A punto de caramelo la represa Portugués; Date: 16 October 2013; Year: 31; Issue: 1559. Page: 20.) Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  9. ↑ USACE Portuguese Dam Construction - July 2009
  10. ↑ "Portugués Dam Status as of March 22, 2011". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 USACE Discovery of Pre-Columbian era Site Yields Rare Treasure 2009

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