“Peligro,” the sign reads—danger. Despite this warning, people have filed through gaps in fences and have waited patiently to fill buckets, jugs, and bottles with water from a spigot on an abandoned lot, the Washington Post reports. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, citizens of Puerto Rico are in desperate need of water. And some of them are getting it from hazardous sources.
More than a third of the 3.4 million US citizens in Puerto Rico still can’t turn on the tap to get clean water. Furthermore, reports indicate that emergency water supplies are struggling to reach those who need them since ports, roads, and bridges were destroyed by the powerful storm.
“The lack of water is far worse than anything experienced in Florida and Texas after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey,” the New York Times reported, due in part to the island’s rugged terrain and damaged infrastructure.
For many residents, finding enough water to drink and cook with has become a daily challenge. The Environmental Protection Agency cited reports of residents obtaining drinking water from wells at hazardous Superfund sites. In Comerio, where flooding left infrastructure in ruins and residents cut off from aid, locals have used plastic pipes to route water to a makeshift bathing area. Across the island, four deaths so far are suspected as a result of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread by animal urine in the water supply.
While generators and limited grid power keep pumps working at plants across the island, fuel scarcity is also a concern since government officials have indicated that it may be months before power is fully restored.
Progress is slow, but public health officials have indicated this week that 75% of the island’s ports are now open and that they are receiving about 1,100 containers of bottled water each day to offer the island’s thirsty inhabitants. But that’s far from enough.
This seems a crucial moment to consider precautions that other communities can take with regard to water security. In the face of natural disasters, what strategies do you suggest for bolstering infrastructure and managing resources?
