Governor names new PRASA director for San Juan region

From left, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón, Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority Executive President Luis González Delgado, and new PRASA metropolitan regional director José Antonio Rivera Ortiz

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón earlier this week announced the appointment of engineer José Antonio Rivera Ortiz as the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority’s (PRASA) new regional director for San Juan, amid mounting water supply problems impacting sectors of the metropolitan area.

“After a lot of review and interviews, the reality is that we looked for who was one of the best regional directors that the Authority has, who had years of experience and knowledge of the system, and engineer José Antonio Rivera Ortiz is going to be appointed as the new regional director of San Juan,” González Colón said at a press conference in Arecibo late Wednesday.

Arecibo District Sen. Brenda Pérez Soto, meanwhile, announced that González Colón and PRASA Executive President Luis González Delgado have committed to immediately replacing the water pipes in the Arrozal neighborhood in Arecibo’s Los Muertos sector, a community that has been without potable water service for 15 months.

The announcement came after a press conference in which the governor announced the allocation of $213 million for the reconstruction of water infrastructure in Puerto Rico. Pérez Soto said the governor personally approached her to inform her that she had already spoken with the PRASA chief and was immediately authorizing the replacement of the pipes that have been causing water flow problems in that community.

González Colón also said she visited the affected area and confirmed that the senator’s request would be addressed urgently.

“I am deeply grateful to the governor for giving me this news and for bringing justice to a neighborhood that has been forgotten for so long,” Pérez Soto said. “I also thank Mr. Luis González [...] because work will soon begin to install new pipes that will correct the water flow problem in the area. [...] We hope that this sad story of 15 months without water will soon end.”

The senator added that she has already scheduled a meeting with the newly appointed PRASA northern regional director, Erika Maldonado Santiago, in order to bring her up to date on the numerous water service deficiencies in the area.