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Sand Island from the northeast
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Midway Atoll is not your
typical national wildlife refuge. Nowhere in the Refuge System are
the lives of wildlife and human residents so intertwined. It is, in
many respects, a little city, with all the structures, utilities,
and types of equipment that are needed to function in support of the
resident human community. At one time, the facilities at Midway supported
more than 5,000 people. While the current resident population is less
than 30, much of the original infrastructure remains in place.
For example:
- Roads - 10
miles paved and 2 miles gravel
- Seawalls -
nearly 18,000 ft. of sheet piling seawall and breakwater
- Runways - one
usable runway/one taxiway (Sand); one emergency and two unusable
runways (Eastern)
- Telephone -
satellite system and 9+ miles of line supporting on-island system
- Electrical
- 2-1800 Kilowatt hours, 1970s vintage generators; and a new 1998
Caterpillar 1800 Kilowatt hour generator; nearly 120,00 ft. of
above-ground electrical line and nearly 20,000 ft. of street light
line
- Buildings -
nearly 120 buildings, including Cable company buildings (1904),
maintenance shops, hangars, warehouses, barracks, residences,
cold storage, theater, gymnasium, etc. Most built between 1941-1960.
- Fuel - 2- 2.1
million gallon jet petroleum #5 storage tanks, 5 (66,500 gal)
MOGAS (gasoline) tanks, 5 tank truck refuelers, 9,000 ft. of fuel
spill boom/skimmer/vacuum truck. Average approximately 170,000
gal JP5 and 3,000 gal MOGAS usage/month
- Water - 126
acre catchment basin; 3-4.2 million gallon storage tanks, 2 treatment
reservoirs, one 161 ft. water tower, 41,000 ft.of underground
water line
- Sewage - 20,280
ft. of underground line, lift stations and offshore outfall; added
septic/leach field system in October, 1997.
- Recreation
- tennis courts, bowling alley, gymnasium, weight room, racquetball
courts, theater, satellite TV broadcasting one station
- Historic -
63 historically significant buildings, facilities, sites and structures,
such as runways, bunkers, ammo huts, gun emplacements, pillboxes,
etc.
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