Governor: Changing directors won’t solve PRASA’s problems.

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said Thursday that water supply issues in the San Juan metropolitan area cannot be resolved simply by changing directors at the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA), but rather through investment in infrastructure.

“I do not believe this is a problem of ‘who’ is in charge, because multiple directors have already come and gone in the metropolitan region,” the governor told reporters at a press conference in Bayamón. “It is a serious structural problem.”

González Colón said low water pressure and water shortages in the higher-elevation areas of San Juan stem from problems that have persisted for nearly a decade, but that “does not mean residents have to endure another 10 years of the same conditions.”

The governor added that PRASA and the Municipality of San Juan have agreed to extend water distribution schedules, deploy additional water tankers and increase the volume of water supplied to assist affected communities. She noted that PRASA crews have installed a 12-inch emergency pipeline in an effort to restore water service to the affected sectors, so that “even if at lower pressure [...] residents receive at least some water.”

Bayamón Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz noted that “the first of the 10-million-gallon pumps has already been installed” to correct for the three that were damaged within the Finca Rosso system, and that “once all three pumps are fully installed, water service should return to normal in Guaynabo and in one-third of the city of Bayamón.”