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Flooding prompts TSD’s evacuation
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Posted on Jul 25 2005
The Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Works in Lower Base has temporarily moved to the La Fiesta II building due to area flooding from storm water combined with backflows from the public sewer system.
“The condition is dangerous from a health and safety standpoint and DPW is taking this matter seriously by ordering the evacuation until further notice,” said a TSD statement.
The Department of Public Health Bureau of Environmental Health temporarily shut down the TSD building at Lower Base Drive at 11:25am last Friday. Office hours were also cut and only resumed yesterday.
Acting TSD director George Sablan said the entire division, composed of 50 personnel, is temporarily taking refuge at the La Fiesta Mall. The media learned that the TSD staff has been moving furniture and documents from the flooded building to the new office.
Sablan said the relocation is only temporary until the sewer problem in the Lower Base building has been fixed.
One of the program officers of the department, Diego Blanco, said the problem of the sewer has been recurring, especially during the rainy season. He said the sewer drainage in the building is too shallow and that it always overflows when tropical storms hit the island.
He said the department has been coordinating this problem with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., which he said should have addressed the problem a long time ago.
DPW employees assigned to the Lower Base Office will be temporarily relocated to La Fiesta II. Some of the employees will be temporarily stationed in the DPW office in Gualo Rai. Anyone needing to contact the Technical Services Division is asked to contact the Administration Division at 235-5830/9570 or 9714.
Blanco said he is not sure when the entire department would move back to the old office since the department is also keen on moving to another building soon.
“Please watch for further notification as DPW attempts to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this disruption may cause,” TSD said in a statement.
