San Juan mayor may sue PRASA this week over lack of water in capital.

Sen. Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez

By THE STAR STAFF

San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo is preparing to file a lawsuit this week in federal court against the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA), as residents and businesses in the capital city face hardship due to a lack of potable water.

The information was confirmed by New Progressive Party Sen. Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez, who recently introduced Senate Resolution 289 to investigate the ongoing water service interruptions in the capital city, which have cost some $1 million.

“I can tell you that Miguel Romero’s intention is to file this case in federal court this week, before Friday. He delegated the evaluation to a committee of lawyers a week and a half ago,” Morales said in a radio interview.

The senator added that after the San Juan mayor files the lawsuit, as expected, the upper chamber would then “be evaluating and reconsidering, and we could summon the [executive] president of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority to answer questions from the Puerto Rico Senate.”

While the mayor denounced an intentional situation behind the lack of service in San Juan, which on Monday marked 20 days in areas such as Santurce, the senator said PRASA has opted to close the valves of the Superaqueduct near Toa Baja, preventing water from reaching the metropolitan area.

“I think asking for patience seems inappropriate at this time. You have to put yourself in the other person’s shoes to ask for patience from people who have been carrying buckets of water for 20 days,” Morales said, acknowledging that while there had been problems in the past, they were not of the current extent and magnitude.

“That tank [the Pepsi Cola tank] is located in Toa Baja, where the water comes from the Superaqueduct. It supplies water to a large part of the San Juan area, and since 2025, some genius, right at the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, has decided to close that valve, preventing our communities in Santurce from getting their water from that tank,” the senator said. “That’s what you’re already hearing Miguel [Romero] and some others say -- throttling the valve, that’s it. […] They close it, it’s nothing more.”

Morales reiterated that he might summon PRASA Executive Director Luis González Delgado before a full Senate committee.

“I intend to request that the Senate president summon the [executive] president of the authority to answer questions that need to be answered,” he said.

“Possibly, possibly, we’ll see. My idea is to bring it before the Senate and have him answer many of my questions; I need answers. […] We are considering that [the full committee],” Morales said. “[…] I will wait for Miguel to file the case. […] For me, it is very important to have that case. To have it before us to see what elements Mayor Romero included there, where a series of requests and arguments will be made regarding what has been happening from last year until today with the different communities in the municipality of San Juan.”