2016

Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust - Winner of United Nations World Habitat Award

The Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust was selected as Winner of the 2015 United Nations World Habitat Award. This award recognizes innovative and replicable initiatives in the area of housing. The award will be conferred during the Third World Habitat Conference to be held in Ecuador, later in 2016. Urban Waters partners ENLACE and the Land Trust Board worked with the the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to give this land trust new ways to ensure that the revitalization of the channel does not lead to residents being priced or pushed out of their homes. Finally, congratulations to the eight communities living around the Caño whose leadership and dedication were so critical to this accomplishment!  

Read more about the Land Trust and this award here. Exit

View a video about this effort on YouTube.Exit

2015

USACE Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project:

After more than 5 years of studies and negotiations the USACE published for public comment the draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement for the dredging of the Caño Martín Peña. This is a project that has 2007 WRDA Congressional Authorization to restore tidal connectivity between the San José Lagoon and the San Juan Bay, removing over 800,000 cubic yards of sediments, debris and trash; reducing water residence time; improving essential fish habitat conditions and mobility of fish throughout the San Juan Bay Estuary; and boosting biodiversity. Two public meetings were held on October 14, 2015 to receive comments from the general public. The public comment period ends October 26, 2015.

National Estuaries Program Annual meeting 

The Association of National Estuaries Program will hold its annual conference in Puerto Rico from December 2-4, 2015. The conference’s main theme “From Citizen Science to Estuarine Hybridity” will showcase the San Juan Bay Estuary and the Caño Martín Peña.

Soil Shop Fair:

A Soil Shop Fair was conducted by EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on October 3, 2015 in the Buena Vista community. The PR Department of Health, the College of Medical Technologists of PR, and the UPR Agricultural Extension Program were also participants of the activity.  =The purpose of the fair was to disseminate the results of the study on bioavailability of metals (Arsenic and Lead) in Martín Peña urban gardens, conduct Lead (Pb) soil, and blood screenings. Workshops were offered on health and best management practices for urban farming.

Economic Benefit Assessment:

A close collaboration between Enlace, the UN Global Cities Compact, and the RMIT University in Australia is enabling the commencement of the Economic Benefit Assessment Study of the dredging and revitalization of the Caño Martín Peña. The purpose of the study is to validate and further define the socio-economic benefits of the Caño Martín Peña dredging, which will improve quality of life conditions for residents and stimulate economic activity and competitiveness of the Metropolitan Area. This initial stage will consist of community surveys, coordinated through Enlace, to compile socio-economic information, which will be analyzed by RMIT University professors. 

ENLACE

This initiative is focused on the restoration of the Martin Pena tidal channel’s (CMP’s) urban waters. The project will support water pollution prevention education and awareness activities in support of water pollution reduction. As a result of ENLACE’s Urban Waters initiative there will be more grassroots empowerment, democratic participation, direct action, and stewardship in the protection and restoration of the urban waters at the heart of these communities.

Technical Studies

Over 18 technical studies needed to comply with environmental regulations for the dredging of MPC have been completed.  $150 M for the environmental restoration of the MPC was authorized by Congress through the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, conditioned to the Secretary of the Army’s approval of the Report.

Reduced Sewage 

Through enforcement actions against the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) EPA was able to significantly reduce the flow of sewage from the financial district into the MPC.  PRASA has designed and will construct a sewer system for the Financial District (currently a combined sewer).  Construction is scheduled to start in 2016.  The dry weather flow has been diverted to the Puerto Nuevo Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.  During wet weather, only a portion of the flow reaches the MPC after chlorine disinfection.

Clean-up Project

Surface debris clean-up activities, which resulted in the removal of over 885 tons of debris and the recuperation of over 1,500 pounds of recyclable material, have been completed.  Over 500 volunteers and government employees participated in these activities.

Community Engagement

As a result of understanding the unhealthy state of the MPC, residents have understood the need for its dredging and have become the Project’s strongest allies.  Almost 300 household relocations have been completed.