Puerto Rico Morning Brief Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Puerto Rico’s government is not considering a return to water rationing, Secretary of State Rosachely Rivera said Tuesday, October 13, after the biweekly Drought Committee meeting at La Fortaleza. She said reservoir levels have improved with recent rains and are rising. The government is keeping its cloud-seeding project, now focused on the La Plata watershed, and its plan to rehabilitate and activate wells on the north coast. Rivera said all reservoirs are at the Watch band. Carraízo had its gates opened after reaching the Spilling band, and La Plata is stable.

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) has ordered its cloud seeding concentrated on the La Plata reservoir over the coming days, AAA president Luis González Delgado said. A trough is forecast to bring rain in that period. National Weather Service director Ernesto Rodríguez said Wednesday and Thursday should be the rainiest days, with less wind. That should let showers, especially over Naranjito, fall inside the reservoir’s basin. Wind has carried rain out of the basin in recent months, he said.

LUMA Energy will perform maintenance and improvement work on the electrical system on Wednesday, October 14, in 15 municipalities. The work includes removing hazardous vegetation, repairing lines and equipment, and maintaining underground installations. It will cover various sectors, neighborhoods and roads in different regions of the island. Crews will also replace lines, carry out new construction and do work customers requested.

An audit by the HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that Puerto Rico could not justify $47.8 million in payments of federal funds, and potentially up to $54.8 million. The money came from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the island’s recovery and reconstruction after the 2017 hurricanes Irma and María. The OIG attributed the problem to a lack of documentation and internal controls. It recommended that the Office of Dispute Resolution require Puerto Rico to support or reimburse the unjustified payments.

The Puerto Rico Senate approved a substitute bill to streamline business and construction permit processes, with 17 votes in favor and 8 against. The 868-page measure replaces Senate Projects 1183 and 1173. Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz and Governor Jenniffer González Colón presented it. The New Progressive Party (PNP) delegation and independent Senator Eliezer Molina offered dozens of amendments, and all were approved.

US Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma and an opponent of Puerto Rico statehood, introduced legislation on September 30 to limit citizenship by birth in unincorporated US territories, including Puerto Rico. In the House of Representatives, Republican Morgan Griffith of Virginia introduced a similar bill. It would exclude from citizenship by birth the children of people born in US territories who are not US citizens or lack permanent residence authorization. Neither bill is expected to advance in the current Congressional session.