Ni Toh Kakuku - WATER IS LIFE: AN UPDATE FROM BORIKÉN

Low water levels in a river in Borikén (Puerto Rico) illustrate the increasing stress that prolonged drought places on the island’s freshwater systems, ecosystems, and communities.

On 22 August 2026, the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) expressed our deep concern regarding the escalating drought and water crisis affecting Borikén (Puerto Rico), calling attention to the connections between water security, climate justice, land-use decisions, and the protection of our island's fragile ecosystems.

Today, we follow up as conditions remain serious. Nearly half of Borikén remains under extreme drought, water rationing connected to the Carraízo reservoir continues, and La Plata remains under operational adjustments. Recent rainfall has provided some welcome relief to several reservoirs, but it has not ended the drought or erased the accumulated water deficit.

Of particular concern, the government is now examining previously inactive wells as potential additional water sources for the metropolitan area. Groundwater can be an important part of an emergency response, but increased extraction must be approached carefully. Aquifers are not unlimited resources, and rainfall does not immediately restore groundwater that has been depleted over extended periods. This reinforces UCTP's call for transparent, cumulative assessment of groundwater extraction, competing water demands, development decisions, and ecological limits. That principle must also apply to proposed mega-development projects such as Proyecto Esencia in Cabo Rojo, which anticipates substantial groundwater use. Our concern is not that one project alone created Borikén's water crisis. Rather, projects of this magnitude must be evaluated against the climate and hydrological reality our island is experiencing today—and the conditions we can reasonably anticipate tomorrow.

We cannot ask communities to conserve water while making decisions about new groundwater extraction and water-intensive development without fully understanding their combined and long-term impacts. Climate justice requires planning within the ecological limits of Borikén and protecting water for our communities, ecosystems, agriculture, and future generations.

Ni Toh Kakuhu - Water is life. Our future depends upon protecting it.

— United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP)

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