Estuario Weekly Update
Estuarine greetings! This week, we celebrate the next Family Day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve, share the launch of the new Continuous Remote Water Quality Monitoring System, invite you to join the upcoming Certification for Citizen Scientists’ activities and provide an update on this year’s upcoming Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico. More information, below.
Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico
Save the date!
The Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico is back! On Saturday, April 18, 2026, join a citizen scientist-driven monitoring day in which volunteers and communities around the Puerto Rican archipelago come together to take water samples and generate valuable data on the health of our waters.
Registration for the event will open soon. Stay tuned to our social networks and Weekly Update for more information!
We are looking for co-hosts
If you are interested in co-hosting the eighteenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico, register in the following link to participate in the co-hosts’ orientation on Monday, February 23, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Co-hosts will perform at least one of the following tasks:
– Facilitate training workshops to the public
– Distribute monitoring kits
– Receive and provide spaces for the public that will participate in the event
We are looking for co-hosts throughout the archipelago. Estuario will provide all necessary materials.
We’d love to hear from you!
Family Day
The Family Day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve returns! Get ready for an afternoon of learning and enjoying nature together, in commemoration of World Wetlands Day, on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Jaime Benítez Park.
There will be opportunities to accumulate Contacto Verde or community service hours, as applicable.
See the agenda of activities, in estuario.org/eventos.
Don’t miss this opportunity to interact and connect with the ecosystems that surround us. No registration required. Any questions or comments, email us at: [email protected]. See you there!
Cine del Estuario
Cine del Estuario presents: How to Train Your Dragon (2025), on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Jaime Benítez Park of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. The film will be screened in Spanish, with English subtitles. This feature is free of charge. No registration is required. Bring your blanket or chair.
Analysis of microplastics in the waters connected to the SJBE
Thanks to Ángel Rosa, Prof. Laura Santiago and students Andrea Vázquez, Yamillet Acosta and Yarian Rosario for joining us on Friday, January 30 to remove and analyze the microplastics present in the Caño Martín Peña and the Margarita Canal.
This field experience was carried out as part of the Microplastic Characterization and Reduction module of the Estuario Certification for Citizen Scientists.
See more training and volunteering activities, below.
SJBEP Installs Remote Water Quality Monitoring System
On Thursday, January 29, 2026, San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (SJBEP) announced the installation of the Continuous Remote Water Quality Monitoring System; composed of six buoys equipped with sensors, strategically deployed in bodies of water connected to the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE).
The Continuous Remote Water Quality Monitoring System will allow SJBEP and partners to acquire continuous and real-time data, to make scientific information accessible for the elaboration of analyses that inform about emerging problems and to activate relevant alerts.
Learn more about the new monitoring system, HERE.
Media Coverage
January 29, 2026. Génesis Ibarra Vázquez. Instalan sistema de monitoreo remoto en la cuenca del estuario de la bahía de San Juan. Ciencia y Ambiente. El Nuevo Día. Web. https://www.elnuevodia.com/ciencia-ambiente/otros/notas/instalan-sistema-de-monitoreo-remoto-en-la-cuenca-del-estuario-de-la-bahia-de-san-juan/
January 29, 2026. Remoto y en tiempo real: así funciona el nuevo sistema de monitoreo del Estuario de la Bahía de San Juan. Ciencia y Ambiente. El Nuevo Día. Web. https://www.elnuevodia.com/ciencia-ambiente/otros/fotogalerias/remoto-y-en-tiempo-real-asi-funciona-el-nuevo-sistema-de-monitoreo-del-estuario-de-la-bahia-de-san-juan/
January 29, 2026. Joaquín Rosado Lebrón. Científicos estrenan sistema de boyas en estuario de San Juan para monitorear calidad de agua. Locales. Metro PR. Web. https://www.metro.pr/noticias/2026/01/29/cientificos-estrenan-sistema-de-boyas-en-estuario-de-san-juan-para-monitorear-calidad-de-agua/
Certification for Citizen Scientists
Below are the activities scheduled for the coming weeks. Remember that all workshops and field experiences count toward Contacto Verde or community service hours. See more information in estuario.org/ccc.
Water Quality Monitoring Module
Field Experience: Bacteriological Monitoring; Thursday, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop: Physical-chemical parameters; Thursday, February 12, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Field Experience: Bacteriological Monitoring; Thursday, Feb. 19, at 9:30 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Participatory Bird Census Module
Participatory Bird Census Workshop; Tuesday, February 10, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Field experience: Participatory Bird Census; Saturday, February 21, at 7:00 a.m. at Laguna Blasina
Coastal Resilience Module
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, February 14, at 8:00 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Seagrasses; Saturday, February 14, at 12:00 p.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Field experience: Planting coastal vegetation; Sunday, February 15, at 8:00 a.m. in Piñones
Coastal Resilience Workshop: Ecological restoration of dunes and mangroves; Thursday, February 19, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Field Experience: Seed Collection; Friday, February 20, at 8:00 a.m. in Piñones
Weekly water quality monitoring
Evaluation carried out on Thursday, February 5, 2026. We have a RED flag for the Condado Lagoon. We recommend avoiding the regions that exceeded the «Beach Action Value» water quality parameter for 70 CFU/100 ML enterococci. Remember to avoid the water during rain events.
