August 1, 2020 - San Juan, Puerto Rico - The San Juan Bay Estuary Program (Estuary Program) reported today that several metropolitan beaches and the Condado lagoon are not suitable for recreational or sporting activities involving human contact with the water, due to high levels of bacteria harmful to people's health.
“The analysis of samples taken weekly by the Estuary Program at twelve stations in these bodies of water reveals high levels of enterococci from waters impacted, mostly, by sanitary discharges carried there by the rains associated with Tropical Storm Isaias,” said Brenda Torres Barreto, executive director of the non-profit corporation.
According to the environmental manager, the beaches of Escambrón and those near Cervantes and Nairn streets in Condado, as well as Pine Grove in Isla Verde, reflect bacterial levels above the water quality parameters considered safe for human health.
Likewise, the four water quality monitoring stations in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Reserve - in Jaime Benítez Park, Baldorioty Beach, Aguadilla Street and the San Gerónimo area - show unfavorable conditions for bathers.
“Intense rainfall events, like those we saw this week due to the tropical storm, are exacerbated in the metropolitan area by deforestation and erosion of the watersheds, which prevent rainwater runoff from filtering through the ground. These conditions cause runoff to carry pollutants and overflowing sewage as a consequence of a water infrastructure that is many years old,” explained Torres Barreto.
“We urge the public to pay attention to the measurements that the Estuary Program takes weekly in these bodies of water and to avoid visiting them after torrential rains,” he added.
For more information you can visit www.estuario.org or the Facebook page: Estuario San Juan.
“The analysis of samples taken weekly by the Estuary Program at twelve stations in these bodies of water reveals high levels of enterococci from waters impacted, mostly, by sanitary discharges carried there by the rains associated with Tropical Storm Isaias,” said Brenda Torres Barreto, executive director of the non-profit corporation.
According to the environmental manager, the beaches of Escambrón and those near Cervantes and Nairn streets in Condado, as well as Pine Grove in Isla Verde, reflect bacterial levels above the water quality parameters considered safe for human health.
Likewise, the four water quality monitoring stations in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Reserve - in Jaime Benítez Park, Baldorioty Beach, Aguadilla Street and the San Gerónimo area - show unfavorable conditions for bathers.
“Intense rainfall events, like those we saw this week due to the tropical storm, are exacerbated in the metropolitan area by deforestation and erosion of the watersheds, which prevent rainwater runoff from filtering through the ground. These conditions cause runoff to carry pollutants and overflowing sewage as a consequence of a water infrastructure that is many years old,” explained Torres Barreto.
“We urge the public to pay attention to the measurements that the Estuary Program takes weekly in these bodies of water and to avoid visiting them after torrential rains,” he added.
For more information you can visit www.estuario.org or the Facebook page: Estuario San Juan.
