The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District (USACE), in partnership with the Government of Guam, is conducting a feasibility study to evaluate emergency shoreline protection at the Agat Mayor’s complex in Hagat, Guam. The study is authorized by Section 14 of the Flood Control Act of 1946, as amended, which allows for the planning and construction of emergency stream bank and shoreline protection projects for public facilities in imminent danger of failing.  The study was initiated in February 2023 upon execution of a Feasibility Cost Share Agreement between USACE and the Government of Guam, whom, for purposes of this planning study, is represented by the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans (BSP) and the Guam Department of Public Works (DPW).

The Agat Mayor’s complex is a public facility that includes the municipal government headquarters (Agat Mayor’s office), community center, learning center, computer lab, emergency shelter, evacuation facility, post office, and community gathering space (Sagan Bisita). As part of the feasibility study, USACE is investigating numerous alternatives to protect the complex from shoreline erosion. An existing seawall intended to protect the Agat Mayor’s complex is on the verge of collapse due to erosion and undermining, leaving the buildings and facilities exposed to damage from wave attack and storm surge. The Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) consists of removal of the existing seawall and construction of a 320 ft. long open cell piling seawall.  

Figure 1. The study area runs along a 320-foot stretch of beach, which runs parallel to Agat Mayor Compound. Image courtesy of USACE, Honolulu District

Figures 2 and 3: Erosion and undermining of the existing seawall built to protect the facilities is visible in within the study area. Photos courtesy of The Bureau of Statistics and Plans, Government of Guam