Puerto Rico committee reviews La Plata dam hurricane preparations; AAA outlines generator, communications and early‑warning projects

The Northern Region committee of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives held a hearing on a resolution to investigate preparedness at the La Plata dam ahead of hurricane season, hearing from officials of the Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA) and from Dorado municipal leaders.

AAA officials told the committee they have operating procedures, on‑site redundancy for gate operation and new projects in procurement and environmental review intended to strengthen operations at La Plata. Roberto Martínez, engineer and executive director of AAA’s Región Metro, told the panel, “La represa La Plata tiene 2 generadores,” and said one generator (313 kilowatts) is sufficient to operate the dam’s gates while a second (about 750 kilowatts) provides redundancy.

The committee was also briefed on a separate AAA project to supply backup power for the raw‑water pumping station that moves water from La Plata to the Enrique Ortega filtration plant. Ingeniera Anventura, deputy director of design in AAA’s infrastructure department, described a planned procurement for four 2,500‑kilowatt generators and associated fuel storage. She said the project is funded in part through FEMA mitigation funds (program 404) and CDBG‑MIT from the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, with an estimated investment of about $36,000,000 and an overall construction timeline of roughly 2½ years; equipment manufacture and delivery were estimated at 18–24 months. Anventura said the environmental assessment for the project was completed and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was posted for public comment from Feb. 24 to March 11, 2024, with no comments received, and that FEMA Region 2 is reviewing the document under current federal policy guidance.

AAA described its operational protocol for gate openings (identified internally as “procedimiento 402”) as a multi‑cycle alert system. Martínez said the authority issues an “intention to operate gates” notice roughly 24 hours before a potential operation, then an opening notice about 30–60 minutes before gates are opened, and that a 30‑minute audible alarm and recorded voice message sound at the dam to warn anyone in the riverbed. He described a “storm mode” that lowers reservoir levels 72–96 hours before expected extreme events to increase available storage and reduce downstream flood risk.

On communications and monitoring, AAA said it operates a 24‑hour emergency information center with real‑time links to the National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey stream‑gage network in the La Plata basin, and it is deploying an instrumented early‑warning system (seismographs, crack gauges, cameras, level sensors) with downstream sirens that the central emergency office would be able to trigger. Officials said deployment of the early‑warning sirens and instruments was due to begin in roughly two weeks from the hearing.

Municipal officials from Dorado, including a presentation read on behalf of Mayor Carlos A. López Rivera and comments from José Pagán, director of Dorado’s municipal emergency management office, urged continued information sharing and asked that the committee’s findings be provided to the municipality to allow Dorado to align its preparedness plans with AAA’s operations.

Committee members pressed AAA about sedimentation and dredging (dragado). AAA said it performs annual sediment surveys on its reservoirs and prioritizes funding for dredging based on sedimentation analyses; the agency said Carraízo (Loíza) has been prioritized in recent federal mitigation work, while La Plata has not been funded for a deep dredge in the current cycle because of cost and prioritization. AAA officials said shore‑line dredges were performed around 2014–15 during drought response but that a comprehensive dredging program for La Plata would require large additional funding.

Members also raised citizen reports about a false or confusing alert published in the days before the hearing via FEMA/WATCH/alert apps that caused residents to call representatives and emergency offices. Representative Santiago Guzmán said, “me explotaron el teléfono,” describing many calls from downstream neighborhoods after the message went out; AAA said it would investigate how public alerts were issued and confirmed the authority maintains a recorded log of its calls and notifications.

On operational records and follow‑up, the committee chair ordered AAA and Dorado to provide specific documentation within five days. The committee requested: maintenance orders and SAP records or the on‑site bitácora for La Plata’s gates and generators; Dorado’s municipal contingency plan for dam failure or critical failures; and the inventory of 41 meter‑installation points AAA identified for improved zone metering in the Región Metro. Officials said they would supply the documents.

Committee members repeatedly asked about the status of the FEMA/CDBG‑MIT procurement and whether federal review could be accelerated before hurricane season; AAA said the funds are competitively awarded and are available, but the environmental/agency review at FEMA Region 2 remains the final step before award and purchase orders can be issued.

The hearing also covered routine maintenance practices: AAA said La Plata has a daily preventative‑maintenance crew, a supervisor on site, and a computerized maintenance management record system (SAP) that tracks orders and closures. Officials said they keep registries of all notification calls during gate operations and that the procedural contact list includes municipal emergency offices, police command posts for Toa Alta, Toa Baja and Dorado, contractor and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contacts for channel work, and identified downstream residents with livestock.

Why it matters: La Plata supplies raw water to the Enrique Ortega filtration plant and serves multiple municipalities downstream. The committee’s requests for records and the agency’s description of projects and protocols aim to clarify whether operational redundancies and notification systems are in place before hurricane season. The timeline and federal review status of the generator project, the planned early‑warning system, and the lack of an identified dredging funding source for La Plata were the principal outstanding items at the hearing.

The committee recessed after ordering the requested documents; AAA and Dorado officials said they were available to provide further information and that work to complete the projects and trainings was underway.