Luis González Delgado, executive president of Puerto Rico’s Water and Sewer Authority (AAA), said Tuesday the public corporation "does not favor expropriation" of land or community wells, a stance that could doom a legislative proposal to transfer property titles of Non-PRASA water systems to the entities that operate them. Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz similarly said the bill "doesn’t have much sympathy" in the Senate.
González Delgado said in written remarks that although the AAA doesn’t promote community aqueduct development—since these systems don’t necessarily meet AAA’s design and construction standards—that doesn’t mean the agency favors expropriation. The House of Representatives is considering House Bill 1369, which would empower the AAA to expropriate land where community wells, tanks, and aqueduct systems sit and transfer titles to registered entities managing them.
Representative Víctor Parés (New Progressive Party), one of the bill’s authors, says the intent is to secure water access for thousands of families dependent on Non-PRASA systems not connected to the AAA network. González Delgado said the legislature must decide the bill’s course, adding his focus remains executing Governor Jenniffer González’s government plan to modernize water infrastructure.
Rivera Schatz, in his social media "Buenos días, Puerto Rico" message, wrote that expropriation of community wells represents a step backward for community empowerment, questioning who is requesting it and why.