FYI - SuperTubo

[Wallice 13]

Subj: Puerto Rico Aqueduct Stirs Debate
Date: 97-06-17 03:26:08 EDT
From: AOL News
BCC: Wallice 13

.c The Associated Press

By JAMES ANDERSON
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - It's supposed to slake San Juan's
thirst for the next 50 years: a pipeline delivering millions of
gallons of fresh water from a river in central Puerto Rico to its
parched capital.
Welcome news for San Juan, whose nearly 2 million residents
endure water rationing during drought years. Starting Wednesday,
about 390,000 residents in the San Juan area will find their taps
dry every other day.
So when a court last month blocked construction of the $305
million pipeline project because it lacked proper permits, Gov.
Pedro Rossello had a handy response: a bill, passed by his majority
party in the legislature, saying the ``Superaqueduct'' cannot be
stopped. Construction resumes Friday.
The law allows citizens harmed by pipeline construction to seek
monetary damages but little else. It severely curbs the right to
seek another court injunction.
Opposition lawmakers, environmentalists and legal experts are
crying foul.
``There is a conspiracy between the executive and the
legislature to strip away the authority of the judicial system,''
said Manuel Fermin Arraiza, president of Puerto Rico's bar
association.
Rossello argues that Puerto Ricans' right to water outweighs
individual rights in the courts.
``In these times where information can travel in microseconds,
we cannot be struggling with systems that are so slow they don't
allow projects that will benefit all Puerto Ricans,'' Rossello
said.
Struggles over water are common in the Caribbean, where many
nations seasonally ration water. Scant rainfall this year has
caused hunger in Haiti, hurt agriculture in the Dominican Republic,
and fueled wildfires in Barbados and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico's latest fight began May 20, when Mision Industrial,
an environmental group, won the circuit court order stopping
pipeline construction. The court said in part that the government
had no permit to extract 100 million gallons of water a day from
Rio Grande de Arecibo, 50 miles west of San Juan.
Rossello, who has staked prestige on the project, said the
permit wasn't needed. Getting one could take 18 months, delaying
the pipeline's 1998 completion date, his advisers said.
So Rossello presented his bill ordering the Aqueduct and Sewer
Authority to resume construction.
Mision Industrial spokesman Wilfredo Lopez Montanez says the law
will ``strip away legal protection for the environment and natural
resources.'' He insists the aqueduct could harm Arecibo's tidal
marshes and fresh-water aquifers, as well as Taino Indian
archaeological sites.
The crisis has renewed scrutiny of Puerto Rico's antiquated
water system. Officials have not plugged leaks nor cleared
silt-clogging mountain reservoirs. So much sediment has collected
that precious water flows into the sea during heavy rains.
Up to 37 percent of the system's water is lost to leaks -
compared to, say, 5 percent in New York City. An estimated 100,000
families tap the system illegally. Neighborhoods suffer frequent
outages.
The authority's labor union says it needs more workers and
equipment to fix the leaks. For years, governments have studied
dredging the reservoirs. Dredging of one lake starts in July.
First proposed 20 years ago, the Superaqueduct was approved
after a 1994 drought forced rationing for 1.8 million people,
nearly half the population.
Construction began last year. Supporters argue it is the fastest
and cheapest solution to Puerto Rico's water woes. It will create
or support 60,000 jobs, they note.
Mision Industrial says that by dredging reservoirs, plugging
leaks and tapping aquifers, the government could produce 155
million gallons of water a day - more than enough for the city.
``How can you say that you're going to bring millions of gallons
of water to a metropolitan system that loses close to 40 percent of
it? Where's the logic in that?'' Lopez Montanez asked.