The week of August 30–September 5 in Puerto Rico played out in the economy, health and schools, and energy.
Water news brought a mix of relief and caution this week. Carraízo climbed 1.87 meters to 39.01 meters, enough for AAA to pause scheduled interruptions for its customers since September 2, while La Plata slipped slightly and Cidra and Toa Vaca held roughly steady. Yet the broader picture remains dry: the Drought Monitor map dated September 1 showed 65 of 78 municipios in at least moderate drought, and a new study found reservoirs have lost up to a third of their storage capacity. AAA is now hiring private companies to help with water infrastructure work amid recruitment problems, a sign the utility is looking outside its own ranks to keep pace.
On the infrastructure and economy front, officials pitched Puerto Rico as an “economic paradise” in New York to court new investment, while a separate effort aims to have 100% of inhabited areas reach 100 megabits per second internet by the end of 2027. The energy conversation also shifted, with the Energy Bureau potentially positioned to award contracts for 800 megawatts of temporary power. Meanwhile, UPR’s workers’ union and administration remain without a deal on the medical plan, a dispute worth watching for its effect on campus operations.
Elsewhere, lawmakers filed a bill to cut bureaucratic barriers facing homeless individuals seeking services, and in the ring, boxer Juan “Juancito” Zayas returned with a unanimous-decision win over Clayton Ward in Bayamón. Next week, attention turns to whether Carraízo’s rise holds through drier days and whether the UPR talks move toward resolution.
The week’s developments
The reservoirs’ week
| Reservoir | Aug 29 (AAA chart reading at the start of the week, meters above the reservoir's datum) | Sep 5 (AAA chart reading at the end of the week) | Change (Over the week, in meters) | AAA band (AAA's operating band, from the top: safe, watch, adjustments, control) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carraízo | 37.14 | 39.01 | +1.87 m | watch |
| La Plata | 44.83 | 44.54 | -0.29 m | adjustments |
| Cidra | 400.04 | 400.17 | +0.13 m | adjustments |
| Toa Vaca | 147.14 | 147.21 | +0.07 m | safe |
What to watch
| Watch (From the daily Water Watch's own reading of the trend) | Why |
|---|---|
| Carraízo | whether the rise survives a dry week: this week's gain came with 1.86 in of rain nearby. |
| La Plata | whether the slowdown holds: a second week under 9.3 cm a day would say the rotation is doing its job. |
| Cidra | whether the rise survives a dry week: this week's gain came with 4.47 in of rain nearby. |
The live picture is on the water page, the power tracker and the legislature tracker; each development above opens the full write-up. This is the first Week in Puerto Rico.
Sources: the linked reporting; AAA’s reservoir chart and rationing notices; the US Drought Monitor. Reservoir levels are AAA’s chart readings, and the drought map is a weekly expert synthesis of indicators, not a rainfall total.