Saipan
Techniques shared for managing watersheds in the pacific islands of Hawaii, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Years ago, The Pacific Islands Watershed Institute (PIWI) held a NOAA sponsored event in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This event focused on training for agencies, engineers, and other practitioners. The focus at the initial PIWI event held in Oahu, Hawaii in 2011 was the components of watershed planning from field assessments, to modeling, to implementation planning. The CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality hosted the second PIWI2 event. Participants learned about managing watershed drainage infrastructure and participated in three days of intensive fieldwork involving:
- Identifying illicit discharges and updating drainage infrastructure mapping in downtown Garapan
- Evaluating the design and functional performance of stormwater management practices around the island including ponding basins, constructed wetlands, organic filters, oil and water separators, and rain gardens
- Diagnosing the causes behind eroding unpaved, paved, and understanding which techniques will stabilize them
CLIENT: Pacific Islands Watershed Institute, Saipan, CNMI
PROBLEM: Flooding, drainage infrastructure
SOLUTION: Green Infrastructure design and watershed management services
BENEFITS: Training for agencies, engineers, and other practitioners, field assessments, modeling, implementation planning, updated watershed drainage infrastructure
“Thank you for an amazing experience!”
Edwin Reyes, Administrator, Guam Coastal Management Program