Estuario Weekly Update
Thank you for being part of one of the most important participatory science mobilizations of the Puerto Rican archipelago! This week, the focus continues: it’s time to close this Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico cycle, registering your data and returning your kit, so that each sample collected is transformed into useful knowledge to protect our waters.
In the meantime, San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (SJBEP) keeps moving with activities for the whole community, from family gatherings to educational and conservation actions. Read on and find your next way to connect and contribute.
Submit your results and return the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico kit
Thank you for being part of the eighteenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico!
Your participation is critical to continue generating information about the health of our waters and to strengthen conservation efforts across the archipelago.
As a next step, we encourage you to complete the monitoring process:
- Submit the data collected during your sampling, via our website
- Return the water quality kit to the indicated drop-off point
Your data will provide valuable information that can be analyzed to achieve a better understanding of the Island’s waters. The return of the kits is key to reconditioning and reusing them in the coming years.
Access the data registration form at: estuario.org/diadecalidaddeagua
We thank you again for your commitment and the time dedicated to this collective effort. With your support, we continue to promote greater awareness and action in favor of a Puerto Rico with clean and safe water.
Family Day at Condado Lagoon
Don’t miss the next Family Day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve, on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Jaime Benítez Park. This month we celebrate mom and the endemic birds of Puerto Rico. We will have the following activities:
Sports Activity: Pilates for Mom with Instructor Laura Magruder [2:00 p.m.]
Talk about the SJBEP (Green Contact/Community Service) [3:00 p.m.]
Art Activity for Mom: Natural Dye with Jagua Fruits (Green Contact/Community Service) [3:30 p.m.]
Talk: Puerto Rico’s Endemic Birds in the San Juan Bay Estuary Wetlands (Green Contact/Community Service) [4:30 p.m.]
Bird Watching Tour in the Reserve (Green Contact/Community Service) [5:30 p.m.]
Some activities count toward Contacto Verde/community service hours, as applicable. See more information at: estuario.org/eventos
Cine del Estuario
Cine del Estuario presents: Zootopia 2; on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Jaime Benítez Park of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. The film will be screened in Spanish, with English subtitles. This screening is free of charge. Bring your blanket or chair. Hope to see you there!
Workshop for interpreters
If you are a tour guide, interpreter or non-formal educator, SJBEP invites you to the workshop, Birds of Estuarine Ecosystems: Techniques to Create Meaningful Experiences; on Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Jaime Benítez Park of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. This workshop counts for continuing education contact hours for tour guides. Register today, HERE.
Earth Day with Jardín Botánico de la UPR
SJBEP will be celebrating Earth Day with Jardín Botánico de la UPR, starting at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25.
We will have a bird census (registration required), an informative talk, an interpretive tour and information tables, where you will have the opportunity to register for the second edition of the Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras at the price of early bird ($30).
Join us! See the agenda of our activities, at: estuario.org/eventos
Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras
Join a race like no other, carried out entirely within the grounds of the Río Piedras Botanical Garden!
Here’s the updated route, where you will walk on trails, appreciating nature and listening to the singing of birds under the shade of native centenary trees. The route is perfect for runners and walkers of all levels. There will be a 1K segment for children.
The second edition of the Estuario 5K will be on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 7:00 a.m. at Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras, in San Juan.
The Estuario 5K is carried out with the endorsement and close collaboration of Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR).
We are looking for adult volunteers for the Estuario 5K
There are some spaces left for adult volunteers (over 18 years old) to support during the Estuario 5K race at Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on May 17, 2026. Event volunteers will receive a t-shirt and will have reserved parking, in the DNER building, steps from the event. They will be required to attend a virtual orientation meeting via Zoom.
Sign up to volunteer for the Estuario 5K in estuario.org/eventos.
Actions for the reduction of aquatic waste
Through the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE) watershed.
Community Fair at La Goyco
This Saturday, April 25, SJBEP will be present at the Community Fair of Taller Comunidad La Goyco, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
There will be workshops, story reading, music, a discussion on compost, and the screening and discussion of the documentary: The Rights of Nature.
Look for our information table!
Fundación Barrio Obrero Festival
Last Friday, April 17, SJBEP participated in the Barrio Obrero Foundation Festival with an educational table. We shared information with those present about the importance of the SJBE and the impact that vegetable oil has on water quality, in support of the community beautification campaign in Barrio Obrero Oeste and Barrio Obrero Marina: Embellecer es Pertenecer (Beautifying is Belonging).
We thank the coordinators of the event for the invitation and congratulate the efforts and activities carried out during the fourth edition of this festival. We also send an estuarine greeting to the students of the various schools that participated and took advantage of the educational component of the event.
Recycling Pop-up in Loíza
Last Saturday, April 18th, SJBEP was present at the monthly event, Recycling Pop-up in Loíza. On this occasion, our educational table had a water quality monitoring station. We also shared information about the campaign: Deja una huella limpia en Piñones, and other educational initiatives about the importance of conserving our waters and gray infrastructure, as well as the vegetable oil diversion efforts of the Municipality of Loíza.
The Recycling Pop-up in Loíza takes place on the third Saturday of each month, at the Miguel Fuentes Pinet Park. The following materials are accepted: #1, #2 and #5 plastics, aluminum, brass and corrugated cardboard. This event is organized by LimPiaR, Tais and the Municipality of Loíza.
Professional Services Contract Opportunities
Planting with L’Oréal in Condado
As part of its Earth Day celebration, L’Oréal Caribbean joined the SJBEP to carry out a red mangrove planting in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Natural Reserve, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. This planting event is part of a strategic alliance between L’Oréal and SJBEP that seeks to increase biodiversity in the Reserve in three key ecosystems: mangroves, seagrasses and corals; to reverse decades of environmental damage and ensure the sustainability of the Reserve.
Thank you to the L’Oréal Caribbean team for their support and commitment to these restoration projects in the Condado Lagoon.
Certification for Citizen Scientists
Below are the activities scheduled for the coming weeks. Remember that all workshops and field experiences count towards Contacto Verde or community service hours. See more information at estuario.org/ccc.
Participatory Bird Census Module
Participatory Bird Census Workshop; Tuesday, May 5, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Field experience; Saturday, May 9, at 7:00 a.m. in the Piñones State Forest
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Module
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Workshop; Thursday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Coastal Resilience Module
Field Experience: Seed Propagation; on Sunday, April 26, at 8:00 a.m. at Vivero Estuario of Centro TAU, Loíza
Coastal Resilience Workshop: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs and Seagrass; Wednesday, May 6, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, May 9, at 8:00 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Field Experience: Seagrass Ecological Assessment; Saturday, May 9, at 12:00 p.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Media coverage
April 16, 2026. El estuario de la Bahía de San Juan: ¿Qué tan saludable está nuestra agua?. TeleOnce. Web: https://teleonce.com/programas/uncategorized/el-estuario-de-la-bahia-de-san-juan-que-tan-saludable-esta-nuestra-agua/
Paola Sierra Gelpí. April 23, 2026. Persisten descargas contaminantes en el estuario de San Juan pese a años de inversión pública. Noticias. MetroPR. p.4. Web: https://www.metro.pr/noticias/2026/04/23/persisten-descargas-contaminantes-en-el-estuario-de-san-juan-pese-a-anos-de-inversion-publica/
Weekly water quality monitoring
Thanks to the volunteers who supported the bacteriological monitoring on Thursday, April 23, 2026, as part of the Estuario Certification for Citizen Scientists’ Water Quality Monitoring module. Up next, the results.
Evaluation carried out on Thursday, April 23, 2026. We have a GREEN flag for the Condado Lagoon. We recommend avoiding the area that exceeded the “Beach Action Value” water quality parameter for 70 CFU/100 ML enterococci. Remember to avoid the water during rain events.
