The Week in Puerto Rico: Carraízo Up 0.18 m, Rationing Still Paused

The week of September 6–12 in Puerto Rico played out in water, health and schools, and government and politics. Carraízo rose 0.18 m over the week to 39.19 m while AAA’s scheduled interruptions stayed paused.

In Yauco, elderly adults are struggling with hunger and loneliness, and some turn to medication to cope. San Sebastián is struggling to capture the stray dogs that attacked a boy, and its mayor says state funds for the job went unused.

LUMA Energy has yet to replace streetlights in nine municipalities and says the fixes will come by January. A Senate bill would fine protesters who intentionally block traffic up to $2,500.

On September 6, AAA’s daily monitoring found 10 reservoirs losing water. The drought map dated September 8 still has 61 of 78 municipios in at least moderate drought. Elsewhere on the water map, La Plata fell 0.29 m, Cidra rose 0.10 m and Toa Vaca fell 0.01 m.

The week’s developments

Developments of the week of Sep 6–Sep 12.

Development (Links to the full write-up, which names its source)	Theme (The subject it is filed under: government and politics, energy, water, the economy, safety, health and schools, roads and travel, culture and sports, or daily life around the island)	Day
Daily Monitoring: 10 Reservoirs Show Water Level Declines Amid Drought	Water	Sep 6
Elderly in Yauco Turn to Medication to Cope with Hunger and Loneliness	Health and schools	Sep 6
San Sebastián Struggles to Capture Stray Dogs After Attack on Boy, Mayor Says State Funds Unused	Government and politics	Sep 7
LUMA Energy has yet to replace streetlights in nine Puerto Rico municipalities, says fixes to come by January	Energy	Sep 7
PR Senate bill would fine road-blocking protesters up to $2,500	Roads and travel	Sep 7
Widow of Late Cataño Mayor Announces Bid to Succeed Him	Government and politics	Sep 7
Archaeological Find in Loíza May Reveal Early Fusion of African, Indigenous and Spanish Cultures	Culture and sports	Sep 9
Mambas Shack Plans Second Location in Hato Rey, Eyes Growth Into Puerto Rican Burger Chain	Economy	Sep 10

The reservoirs’ week

Source: AAA reservoir chart, daily readings kept by 787daily.

Reservoir	Sep 5 (AAA chart reading at the start of the week, meters above the reservoir's datum)	Sep 12 (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	39.01	39.19	+0.18 m	watch
La Plata	44.54	44.25	-0.29 m	adjustments
Cidra	400.17	400.27	+0.10 m	watch
Toa Vaca	147.21	147.20	-0.01 m	safe

What to watch

The water desk's watch list for the coming week.

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 1.82 in of rain nearby.
Cidra	whether the rise survives a dry week: this week's gain came with 4.52 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 2nd Week in Puerto Rico (last week’s is here).

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.

Corrected October 7: an earlier version presented one day’s reservoir count, September 6, as the week’s.