San Juan Mayor Sila M. Calderón was pleased to host this year's third annual Conference of Mayors' Urban Water Summit in San Juan, PR. With Puerto Rico's growing water challenges, Mayor Calderón addressed the issue that water can be not only a friend but also a foe as Hurricane George demonstrated when it hit the island last year with torrential rains and high winds.  Homes were destroyed or damaged leaving the neighborhoods of San Juan without any water service for an extended period of time.

Mayor Calderón was keynote speaker at an Urban Water Summit luncheon in the El San Juan Hotel.

Being an island and having sufficient groundwater supply, many might think that Puerto Rico does not face any difficult water issues.  On the contrary, it was not until water was rationed in 1994 (as a result of the severe drought), that consumers realized that they were taking this service for granted. Mayor Calderón explained, "It is when you can't pour water into the coffee maker in the morning, or turn the shower on, or turn on the faucet to do the dishes, that is when your life is completely affected."

Like many communities across the island, San Juan has to face increasing problems in receiving reliable water service.  There is a high level of dissatisfaction with the current water service; many consumers either get no water service at all or distrust the quality of water that they do receive.  Because of this, many people are buying bottled water to drink.

"We have an inefficient, highly subsidized, and very costly system that no longer serves its social function of providing low cost dependable service", said Mayor Calderón.  Unfortunately, it seems to be the poorest in the community that are paying the highest price for the system's inefficiency.  Mayor Calderón also added, "The fact of the matter remains that our water problem is not so much one of inadequate supplies, but of inadequate infrastructure and poor management."  Puerto Rico gets an abundance of rain with an annual precipitation of about 75 inches per year, in comparison to a United States average of about 30 inches (which include snowfall).

With the quality of service being inconsistent throughout the island, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) was established in 1945.  PRASA played an important role in the island's economic and social development with its expansive infrastructure reaching remote corners of the island, running operations efficiently and keeping costs low.  However, in the mid 1970's costs began to exceed revenues, and the agency began a sudden decline.  By early 1980's it was in serious financial trouble and much of the water collected was simply unaccounted for through leaks in the system.  Mayor Calderón indicated that is time for Puerto Rico to consider other alternatives.

Mayor Calderón praised the mayors for convening in Puerto Rico to address the issue of water and wastewater infrastructure issues that is effecting many mayors across the nation.  Like Puerto Rico, many other cities in the United States are looking into Public/ Private Partnerships to find a cost-effective and innovative plan for the provision of drinking water and wastewater services.