Hurricane Melissa attained Category 5 status early on October 27, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.

The storm made landfall near New Hope in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica.The storm caused catastrophic damage upon landfall in Jamaica, becoming the strongest hurricane on record to hit the island, surpassing Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. It also produced the highest wind gust ever recorded by dropsonde data, 252 mph.

Many towns in western Jamaica were also significantly flooded as a result. In all, 102 deaths were attributed to Melissa, with estimated monetary losses in Jamaica of near US$10 billion.

About 200,000 customers, or 35% of Jamaica's homes and businesses, were left without power. The parishes of Saint Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Saint James, Trelawny, and Hanover, which received the worst of Melissa's impacts, lost all communication.

Around 150,000 structures were damaged by Melissa. The storm ripped the roofs off about 120,000 structures. Around 24,000 buildings were destroyed. As of January 1, 2026, many areas remained without access to electricity, roads, or clean water.

In a statement, Jamaica's National Water Committee announced it still had not been able to repair water supply infrastructure.

Due to the nature of the disaster, the water treatment systems have been disrupted and will need to be repaired.

Request for Proposal

Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, Vicksburg District, are soliciting bids for a new water treatment systems (WTS). Each system is expected to provide 20 million gallons per day (MGD).


Proposal bids must be submitted no later than Sunday, February 22, 2026 with company representatives on hand to present a brief 5 minute overview of the proposed design.

Proposal packages should be addressed to:

Lieutenant General William H. Graham, Jr.
55th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
441 G St NW
Washington DC, 20314

Specific project requirements, evaluation criterion, and schedule are posted on the class website

Proposal Preparation

1. Proposal Title Page (follow Report Guidelines)

Title of Proposal must be brief (80 characters maximum) yet represent the main focus of the project.
Also include name and address of the applicant and Project Director
 

2. Project Description

The specific aim of the project must be included in all proposals. The text of the project description must contain the following components:

1. Introduction - A clear statement of the goals and supporting objectives
2. Background and existing situation - Provide a detailed description giving rise to the need for the effort in the proposed project
3. Research and development of proposed system - Provide a detailed description of the observations, methods, and research conducted in designing the proposed system.
4. The proposed system - Provide a detailed description of the system proposed and include supporting documentation

This website was originally developed by Charles Camp for CIVL 1112.
This site is maintained by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis.
Your comments and questions are welcomed.