Wednesday October 28, 2015

Time: 8:00 am Registration; 8:30 am - 12:00 pm training
Place: Pacific Islands Club, Napu Room
Agenda
Main Event
speaker: Various - see list below
emceed by: Derek Chambers

Stories from Soudelor
On August 2, 2015 the small (5 mile wide diameter) eye of Category 4 typhoon Soudelor passed over Saipan knocking over 800 + powerpoles, ripping off roofs, and uprooting trees.  The typhoon caused significant damage to many water systems and wastewater systems.  At this special session of the Mariana Islands Water Operator Association, several water operators from various systems including hospitals/clinics, hotels, restaurants, CUC and BECQ described what happened to their system and how they dealt with it.
Presenters/Speakers Included:
  • Commonwealth Health Center - Cecilio Raikulipy
  • Lao Lao Bay Golf Resort - Ruel Magtalaes
  • Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality - Jose Kaipat
  • Saipan Ice & Water Company - Melissa Panurigan
  • S.T.A.R. Marianas Water Co. - Edgar Ombac
  • St. Jude Renal Facility - Romeo Bernardo
  • Aqua Resort Club - Jaime Magboo
  • Quality Waters Lab - Rose Gamier
  • McDonalds - Joe Ayuyu
  • CUC Wastewater - Richard Wasser, Yogi Singh, George Blas
  • CUC Lab - Heidi Yelin
  • CUC Water - Larry Manacop, Yvonne Cabrera
  • CUC - John Riegel
About Soudelor
Speaker: Mark Lander, University of Guam

Mark told the audience about the unusual nature of this typhoon, how it had such a small eye, that all predictions were that it was barely a category 1 storm.  The island of Saipan was taken by surprise when this typhoon hit in the night and 132 mph winds ripped across the island.

A Special Presentation

After the class,the Association presented a plaque with a Certificate of Appreciation to LCDR Brian Bearden.  In November 2015, Brian will be leaving Saipan after living here for 20 years, moving to Alaska to work as an operations and maintenance engineer/consultant for Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc., a Tribal Health Corporation.  The inscription on the plaque read:

"Mariana Islands Water Operator Association awards this Certificate of Appreciation to LCDR Brian G. Bearden for his support of the Association from its incorporation in February 2009 until his departure from Saipan in November 2015.  LCDR  Bearden has prepared continuing education presentations for eight classes over the past seven years covering topics as diverse as geology and groundwater of Saipan to control of microorganisms in drinking water.  Even though he is only an Engineer, not a certified water operator himself, he has always supported the Association, and encouraged his co-workers to become certified, take pride in their work, and never stop learning.  The Association looks forward to hearing about his adventures in Alaska and receiving presentations about keeping bears off of the water storage tank and moose out of wastewater lagoon."

Instructors' Bios

PowerPoint Presentations & Links

Click here to download the document titled "National Weather Service Forecast Office Guam and University of Guam Water and Environmental Research Institute Revised Typhoon Soudelor Wind Assessment for Saipan." 

Attendance and Certificates

To get a copy of your certificate, click on your last name. The certificates are jpg files.  When you click on your name the certificate should either download automatically to your computer, or open on your screen.  If it opens on your screen, then remember to save it to your computer.
CUC Employees
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Last modified: 11/02/2015