Puerto Rico Is Rationing Water. It Could’ve Avoided It by Harvesting Rainwater
The island could capture billions of gallons of water a year if it implemented systems to catch it as it falls from the sky.
Puerto Rico is currently rationing water, with the governor ordering municipal governments to shut off supplies to residents in the northeast two days at a time. This drought-induced water crisis has been exacerbated by damaged infrastructure, leaving 180,000 households with limited access to water. While the drought is a factor, it's the government's mismanagement of water resources that poses the bigger problem, according to environmental lawyer Ruth Santiago.
The island's plentiful rainfall—ranging from 30 to 169 inches annually—could be harnessed through rainwater harvesting systems, which rely on gravity to divert rainwater from roofs to indoor plumbing. If just 1 million households in Puerto Rico used rainwater collection technology, the island could gather 30 billion gallons of water annually.
However, the government offers no incentives or financial assistance for such systems, and there are no specific laws or building codes mandating their use. While the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority loses 60 percent of its drinking water due to leaking pipes and infrastructure, some other Caribbean islands, like the US Virgin Islands, have much higher rates of rainwater harvesting.
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