Geologists Pedro Matos Llavona and Carlos Ramos Scharrón warn that reservoir storage capacity in Puerto Rico has shrunk by as much as one-third since most reservoirs were built, mainly starting in the 1930s. The findings come from research by academics and students at the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus (RUM) and the University of Texas, who have been studying how landslides contribute to sedimentation in water bodies across the south and west of the island.
The headline cites the researchers’ warning that "there are lakes that no longer exist," underscoring the severity of sediment buildup reducing usable water storage.