Connecticut lawmakers will meet with Gov. Ned Lamont in August to discuss what the state can do to help Puerto Rico, as residents there face another month of severe water shortages.
“I'm confident that we'll be able to provide whatever resources and help that they need,” said Bridgeport state Rep. Christopher Rosario, co-chair of the Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission.
Connecticut, which has the highest proportion of Puerto Rican residents of any state at 8%, formed the commission to help boost trade and business between the U.S. territory and the Constitution state.
As businesses and Boricuas on the island deal with water shortages, Rosario says sharing resources could include sending troops from Connecticut’s National Guard.
“I have been in contact with leadership down there and they're kind of waiting for us to kind of get our situation together and see what we can come up with,” Rosario said.
An island known for power outages, now faces water shortages too
Puerto Rico is currently facing one of its most significant water crises in recent years. Residents have been without water for days, weeks or months at a time due to cracks and leaks in the island’s aging aqueduct system.
In June, Puerto Rico’s governor activated the National Guard to distribute drinking water via trucks, each one capable of carrying 2,000 gallons. Some parts of the island are rationing water while businesses that use lots of it — restaurants, salons and laundromats — have reduced hours or closed temporarily. And demand for residential water tanks has doubled.
“Families are buying bottled water, filling buckets and coolers whenever the service returns, and maybe postponing household chores because they don't know when the water is going to be available again,” said Itzel Rivera, business reporter at El Nuevo Día, a Puerto Rican newspaper collaborating on coverage of the diaspora with Connecticut Public.
Rivera lives in Guaynabo, a San Juan suburb of more than 80,000 people. On Wednesday, the area started a five-day mandatory water shut off.
“We bought a lot of bottled water,” Rivera said, “we decided to wash all the clothes yesterday.”
Although water has been restored to some parts of the island, it’s a problem Puerto Ricans worry won’t fully go away.
“They don't have confidence at all because the same happened with the electric system,” Rivera said, pointing to the island’s history of power outages.
Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico’s power grid when it hit the island as a Category 4 storm in September 2017, but the grid was already crumbling from a lack of maintenance and investment.
“The same thing is with the water,” Rivera said.
The governor acknowledged Puerto Rico’s infrastructure has lacked investment and maintenance for decades.
“When you are, for example, 100 days without water and you have it back, you don't have any confidence that it's not gonna happen again,” Rivera said.
What people in Connecticut can do to help
How Connecticut responds to the crisis, and how quickly it can help, is the first test for the newly formed Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission. The 23-member commission was created last year to strengthen economic ties between Connecticut and the U.S. territory.
“This is our maiden voyage,” Rosario said. “There's going to be some hiccups and there's going to be some challenges.”
The commission has limited staff and resources until it can fund a full-time staffer, according to Rosario.
“I wouldn't give it a failing grade, but I would just say there's technical issues that you run across,” he said. “Right now we have just interns doing a lot of the administrative work."
The commission’s meeting with the governor is expected to take place before Connecticut’s primary election on Aug. 11.
In the meantime, Rosario encouraged Connecticut residents with loved ones affected by the crisis in Puerto Rico to reach out to their local representatives.
“If you have a family member that's experiencing a water outage, power outage, or any of those issues, reach out to the commission. Reach out to your legislators,” he said.
Financial help and emotional support can go a long way too, according to Rivera.
“If you have a relative that needs money to buy a [water] tank for their house, that can be something they could help with,” she said.
“And just be emotionally present for the families because it's hard.”
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public. The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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