Water Quality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: Challenges Associated with Water Quality Assessments and Implications for Resilience

Abstract

Extreme weather events can adversely impact potable water production and distribution, which could in turn have public health implications. The original study goal was to assess potential water quality hazards (both chemical and microbiological) in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. The first sampling campaign surveyed water sources that were contextually relevant to disaster recovery and included government-managed systems, community-managed systems, and unmanaged/improvised (spring) sources. Due to extensive power outages, residents increasingly leveraged community-managed and unmanaged sources to fulfill their needs, and these sources showed a higher prevalence of microbiological hazards. However, an unexpected finding in the first sampling campaign was high concentrations of lead in a subset of samples collected from exterior taps, which instigated three follow-up sampling campaigns. Reflecting on the sampling methodology, we conclude that sampling the exterior taps was an appropriate, conservative approach based on a higher likelihood of lead-based plumbing materials and the contextual use of those taps before and after the hurricane due to extended boil water notices and interrupted service. This conservative sampling approach aligned better with historical data reported to the national database. Although the elevated lead concentrations may not be a direct result of the hurricane, this study explores the challenges of rapid reconnaissance research after disasters.