Resilient Infrastructure for the San Juan Bay Estuary

Summary

In 2024, Estuario committed to jumpstarting the reverse channelization of the Juan Mendez Creek by facilitating collaboration among entities responsible for water quality and infrastructure of the creek to address illicit discharges and collapsing fragments along the channel. Channelized creeks are paved with concrete, affecting their natural ability to recycle and transform pollutants. Specific activities include implementing a robust collaborative water quality monitoring program to measure changes occurring in the estuary’s bodies of water; building awareness on how green infrastructure and nature-based solutions help combat climate change conducting a rapid needs assessment to understand how residents are being impacted by raw sewage water; and training citizens to identify and report illicit discharges to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, the government agency responsible for the correction of these discharges. This commitment will serve as a launching point for effective reverse channelization through high-impact blue/green infrastructure interventions through advocacy, education, and community engagement.

Approach

Estuario commits to jumpstarting the reverse channelization of the Juan Mendez Creek by facilitating collaboration among entities responsible for water quality and infrastructure of the creek to address illicit discharges and collapsing fragments along the channel. Specific activities include implementing a robust collaborative water quality monitoring program that will measure changes occurring in the estuary’s bodies of water, building awareness on how green infrastructure and nature-based solutions help combat climate change through various communication strategies such as an educational campaign, a rapid needs assessment that will help us understand how residents are being impacted by raw sewage water, capacity building to train citizens in the identification and reporting of illicit discharges to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) , the government agency responsible for the correction of these discharges.

As a Partnership since 1992, the Estuario’s governance structure promotes continuous communication and collaboration between community stakeholders, scientists, policymakers, government agencies, and other decision-makers to implement a master restoration plan to protect and restore the SJBE and protect its living resources. Estuario will also convene a Steering Committee and Infrastructure Committee that will help address the stakeholder and engagement challenges and formalize the participation of the key partners with collaborative agreements.
As the agency that provides expertise for infrastructure projects, the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) are key collaborators in the project.
Estuario will also design a graduate-level course in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico to develop the next generation of scientists capable of implementing theory and tools that address social, ecological, and technological aspects. This commitment will serve as a pilot project for reverse channelization through high-impact blue/green infrastructure interventions.

Action Plan

June 2024 to December 2024: Collaborate with the University of Puerto Rico to host a graduate level interdisciplinary course entitled “Innovative Approaches to a Sustainable Water Resources in order to develop students that have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop research projects involving complex environmental issues with a focus on social-ecological and technological systems.
Twelve podcast episodes will be developed to document and communicate the project efforts, achievements, and impact.
December 2024: Build out collaboration with USACE and integrate the project in the Water Resources Development Act, authorizing USACE to provide Estuario technical assistance.
Finalize formal memorandums of agreement for the JMC Steering Committee and Infrastructure Committee with key partners.
June 2024 to December 2025: Conduct the rapid needs assessment within the communities surrounding Juan Mendez Creek to establish the baseline for the illicit discharge training that will provide capacity building for the communities on how to identify and report these discharges to the corresponding agencies.
May 2024 to December 2028: Convene the Steering and the Infrastructure Committee quarterly to evaluate the results and the establishment of the restoration plan.

Design and implement capacity building elements through a new Citizen Scientists Certification module in Illicit Discharges

Background

The Juan Mendez Creek (JMC) , located in the San Juan metropolitan area, is one of the most negatively impacted waterways in the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE) watershed, due to serious problems of fecal and solid waste pollution, and has been identified as the highest priority for the correction of illicit discharges and overall restoration. Since 2019, out of 28 cases of critically contaminated water along the JMC have been reported to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) , 9 cases have been addressed, of which 6 are recurring cases. These critical cases of illicit discharges create clogged sanitary drains, overflowing sanitary discharges, cracked sanitary pipes, resulting in a mix of stormwater runoff and untreated sewage in the JMC.

This creek is channelized with concrete, affecting its natural ability to recycle and transform these pollutants. In addition, there are segments of concrete collapsing throughout the creek, posing a threat to a susceptible population of approximately 35,600 residents in the communities directly surrounding JMC. Demographics within the JMC are predominantly disadvantaged communities, with an unemployment rate of 22% and 49% of the population are families living below the poverty level. There are approximately a total of 51,000 residents that are indirectly and directly affected, with 82% of this population classified as low income or having a household income of <$15,000 (US Census 2020) . The lack of action and accountability toward addressing these issues may result in a health hazard in these communities and negatively impair the water quality of JMC, the San Jose Lagoon, and in the long term the SJBE system. The issues present the urgency for a governance mechanism that will facilitate solutions implemented by accountable agencies that will undo the negative effects of channelization through the implementation of nature-based engineering and resilient infrastructure solutions for its long-term restoration (reverse channelization, CCMP Update, 2016) .[commitment-title title='Progress Update'] [commitment-title title='Partnership Opportunities'] The Estuario aims to facilitate and empower the relevant agencies to design and implement Nature-Based Solutions in the areas of the creek where the walls of the channelization have collapsed. Estuario will use this project as a pilot that will help emphasize the importance of nature-based solutions and encourage its applications for future structural projects. In the long term, we expect to expand this approach to other areas inside of the Estuario watershed. We are encouraging USACE to use this project as the first case study in a tropical context., Estuario will provide media support to organizations with coverage of JMC through a podcast series of 12 episodes that will be focused on different aspects related to the Juan Mendez Creek restoration process. Estuario will collaborate with USACE to receive technical assistance for the studies that need to be carried out in order to identify resilient infrastructure solutions, reverse channelization, and begin the restoration process. Estuario will also provide its stakeholders with expertise and science-based data by formalizing the Collaborative Water Quality Monitoring Network and developing a data dashboard that compiles all data gathered by the distinct partners in the Network that is available to the public. Students enrolled at the UPR Environmental Sciences course will be part of the reconnaissance study of the Juan Mendez creek that will provide direct information about the conditions of the creek. Estuario will build capacity and empower the relevant public and private agencies on the importance of nature-based solutions and retrofit of channelized streams.