Jenniffer Gonzalez Announces Federal Rural Development Contributions of $44.9 Million for AAA, Community Aqueducts and the Lajas Landfill

Press Release

The resident commissioner, Jenniffer González Colón, announced 12 new approvals of federal funds from the Rural Development agency attached to the federal Department of Agriculture (USDA) totaling $44,971,849.

The funds attend to the sanitary problem in Lajas, make reimbursements to the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and attend to the need for generators to ensure the operation of several community aqueducts (known as "non-PRASA") under the program of Contributions and Loans for Aguas y Disposal de Perdicios (Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grants), for response and recovery work to the natural disasters of the past years.

"Today USDA Rural Development announces the approval of $17,287 million to the Municipality of Lajas for improvements to the sanitary landfill in Barrio Llanos, to complete the closure of the facilities that need to be closed and the construction of new facilities that will benefit over 105,000 residents of Lajas. , Sabana Grande, San Germán and Guánica. I urge the officials of USDA Rural Development in Puerto Rico to immediately take all the necessary actions of their functions, to facilitate that these works are underway within the next year", said the commissioner.

The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority will receive $6,405,161.00 as reimbursement for all the investment made by the agency during the Hurricane Maria emergency in water and wastewater plants, pumping stations, wells, properties and buildings. In addition to two other additional items, under "grants" one of them of $6,405,161 and another of $14,540,459 for drinking water infrastructure as well as sewage and waste water.


Rural approved the money to several communities around the island to acquire generators and be able to guarantee the service of drinking water in their communities for when power service interruptions or emergencies occur.

The community of the Garzas Juncos neighborhood in Adjuntas will receive $20,000 to acquire a generator as a preventive measure to operate the community aqueduct; this will benefit over 200 families.

While over 260 people in the Tortuguero community of Barranquitas will be able to count on the security of having clean and safe water during any future emergency with the acquisition of a generator with the approval of $23,000 from Rural Development.

The community of the Quemados neighborhood, Los Ortiz sector in San Lorenzo did not have an electric generator, which they will now be able to acquire with an investment of $25,000, benefiting 300 people.

For the Asomante community located in the Municipality of Las Piedras, $181,000 was allocated to acquire an emergency generator to guarantee water in the event of any power outage or in the event of another emergency. The funds are also to build a generator room to ensure the safety of the generator, its installation, leveling of the existing road and drainage works.

In Naranjito, the Anones de Naranjito neighborhood community will receive $21,000 to replace a generator that will benefit 350 families, and the Las Cruces community will receive $24,000 for a generator that will benefit 848 people.

In Orocovis, the community of the Santos neighborhood under the name of Pozo Santo Tomás de Aquino, Inc will receive $15,068.00 that will benefit 140 people. After Hurricane Maria passed, the Water Mission Organization donated a small gasoline generator for the aqueduct with which they could supply water to the community four hours a day. The generator was small and not fit for that type of work, after operating this way for a year the generator broke down from overuse. In 2020, Hurricane Isaias left the community without power and water again for two whole weeks. As a mitigation measure, the community made an extraordinary expense to finance the purchase of a generator, these funds would reimburse that investment.

The Association of Residents and Aqueducts of Barrio Real Inc. in Patillas will receive $25,000 to purchase an emergency generator that will impact 136 residents.

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