Following Maria, Puerto Rico Facing Severe Sewage Crisis

Tap water service interruption is only part of the water crisis in Puerto Rico. Another major, related problem is the sewage crisis unfolding at the same time.

“Raw sewage is pouring into the rivers and reservoirs of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. People without running water bathe and wash their clothes in contaminated streams, and some islanders have been drinking water from condemned wells,” CBS News reported.

“Nearly a month after the hurricane made landfall, Puerto Rico is only beginning to come to grips with a massive environmental emergency that has no clear end in sight,” the report said.

“Urine and fluids from animals, dead and alive, mix with chemicals and human sewage, meaning the water isn't just dangerous for drinking. It's dangerous to be around at all,” CNN reported.

An Associated Press report called the conditions a “massive environmental crisis.” Judith Enck, who served as administrator of the U.S. EPA region that includes Puerto Rico under President Barack Obama, commented on the crisis.

"I think this will be the most challenging environmental response after a hurricane that our country has ever seen," she said, per the report.

As of mid-October, the U.S. EPA has 85 people in Puerto Rico, but Enck called that insufficient.

"People in the U.S. can't comprehend the scale and scope of what's needed," added Drew Koslow, an ecologist with the nonprofit Ridge to Reefs.

Residents are also concerned that the hurricane may have exacerbated previous contamination threats on the island.

“In the southern coastal city of Guayama, residents long have protested the dumping of a several-story-high mountain of coal ash on the grounds of a nearby power plant. The pile looks intact after the hurricane, but many fear the winds and flooding could have sent coal ash laced with heavy metals into adjacent neighborhoods,” the AP reported.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.