JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT

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Portugues Dam

Portugues Dam rotating images Portugués Dam is the first single-centered Roller Compacted Concrete thick arch dam constructed by the Corps in the United States and the Caribbean. Construction of the 220-foot high structure was completed in 2013. Portugués Dam is the final component of the entire Portugués and Bucana flood risk management project (P&B) designed to reduce impacts of flooding in and around Ponce, Puerto Rico.

The overall total investment in the P&B project has reached over $715 million, with 75 percent federal funding and 25 percent funding from the government of Puerto Rico through the local sponsor, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.

Initial Filling Underway

On June 13, the Jacksonville District of the Corps of Engineers crossed the next milestone to make Portugues Dam operational by receiving approval of the Water Control Manual, which allows initial filling operations to begin. The initial filling will take place in multiple stages. Water managers will allow runoff from rainfall to collect in the reservoir, pausing at predetermined elevations to ensure the dam is performing as designed. After the dam is checked at each level, more water will be collected in the reservoir until the dam passes its checks at an elevation of 439.8 feet, the top of the conservation pool and the maximum desired elevation.