The project is one of social and economic transformation and revitalization through access to drinking water.
Loíza, Puerto Rico – With the goal of continuing the work on the San Juan Bay Estuary (Estuary), providing drinking water, and offering community support to communities in eastern Puerto Rico, the Safe Water project was launched today. This was announced by the Estuary's executive director, Brenda Torres. This project aims to empower communities regarding water quality in their environments, provide drinking water, and create green infrastructure to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change in vulnerable areas. The first communities to benefit are located in the municipalities of Humacao, Loíza, and Vieques, and the project is funded by Unidos por Puerto Rico. The announcement was made in El Ancón, Loíza, one of the communities revitalized by this project.
“I am honored to lead the launch of Safe Water as a model of intersectoral integration to achieve resilience in vulnerable communities. Through a single drop of clean water, we have united a community in three different municipalities: Humacao, Vieques, and here in Loíza. Safe Water is a project carried out comprehensively and in close collaboration with local entities and leaders. Water distribution is one of the project's key elements and a primary indicator. However, the ultimate goal behind Safe Water is empowerment,” explained Brenda Torres. “If, in emergency situations such as natural disasters, people in vulnerable communities can manage these water quality protocols on their own and efficiently provide relief to those in need, then we can say, without a doubt, that we have strengthened these communities and supported them in achieving an optimal level of resilience. This is what we are committed to through Safe Water,” added Torres.
The Estuary collaborates with at least one local entity in each community, offers curricula and provides education on water and environmental quality, identifies opportunities to establish green infrastructure for runoff management, and conducts monitoring in nearby water bodies. All of these elements are necessary to raise awareness, build capacity in these vulnerable communities, and ensure a healthy population with access to safe water. The San Juan Bay Estuary will replicate this model in other locations as needed.
The components of Safe Water are:
1. Obtain and filter water for the distribution of drinking water
2. Green infrastructure in vulnerable areas.
3. Community empowerment and environmental education.
“The Community Education, Delivery, and Service Program (PECES, Inc.) celebrates the ability to come together and undertake collaborative, mutually enriching projects. The Collaborative Project has brought, among other benefits, a desalination plant, training for high school students on its operation, and water quality monitoring. Its third component, the Green Classroom, was a participatory design process undertaken by high school students, where they envisioned and built a space for the present and future. The legacy of this collaborative project is of great importance and lays the groundwork for future projects that will contribute to a better community environment and, in turn, a better Puerto Rico,” said Carlos Vázquez Rosario, Executive Vice President of Operations, PECES, Inc.
“This project is the seed of a much larger project for the people of Loíza, from Loíza to the world. The project consists of the conservation of the El Ancón Historic Site, which was and is the natural entrance to Loíza, a city steeped in Puerto Rican traditions. The estuary has made this grassroots community project possible by recognizing its historical, natural, environmental, and social value. El Ancón will become an incubator for self-managed businesses run by young people from Loíza who love the town's traditions and the Río Grande de Loíza,” stated Estelí Capote, architect with the El Ancón Collective.
“The Safe Water project was presented to us at the Vieques Conservation and History Trust, and we felt it was important to share it with the Vieques community. We took advantage of the Junte por Vieques event and the Trust's MANTA summer program to allow people of all ages to see the desalination machine process and taste the water. I live in Vieques and am a survivor of two disasters, Hugo and Maria; on both occasions, I lost my home and belongings. I know that having access to clean drinking water and food becomes a priority. That's why both Safe Water and the community garden at Verde Vieques are examples of where we should be heading, not only during hurricane season, but every day. We must be self-sufficient and always ready for an emergency,” said Airamzul Cabral Guadalupe, director of the Elizabeth C. Langhorne Laboratory at the Vieques Conservation and History Trust.
