The SJBEP’s highlights for the months of September to November 2013 are as follow:
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| The SJBEP's drop off site for the Prescribed Medications Take Back Day, an effort coordinated by the DEA. Our drop off is the most successful of the Island in terms of public participation, recovering over 300 pounds of prescribed drugs. |
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| Volunteers recovered over 700 pounds of debris from the shoreline of the San jose Lagoon, part of the Second Mega Cleanup of the Estuary. |
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| One of our volunteers recovered a wheel from the bottom of the Condado Lagoon. |
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| MillerCoors will donate 15 cents per box of their product to help improve the San Juan Bay Estuary's ecosystems. |
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| Eight scuba divers recovered hundred of glass bottles from the bottom of the Condado Lagoon. |
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| Thousands of fish died in the San Jose Lagoon and the Suarez Canal due to lack of oxygen and eutrophication. |
Condado Lagoon Estuarine
Reserve – On
September 30th, 2013 Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed into
law the designation of the Condado Lagoon as an Estuarine Natural Reserve. Law
112 of 2013 raised the level of protection for the Lagoon and instructs the
DNER to develop a management plan in coordination with the SJBEP. The Law also creates a commission comprised
of the SJBEP, DNER, community representatives, the Municipality of San Juan,
and businesspersons of the zone. Our
organization offered information about the Estuary and the Lagoon to senators José
R. Nadal Power and Ramón Luis Nieves. Following are some links to related news:
SJBEP
celebrates ‘National Estuaries Day’ and recognizes the efforts of its
volunteers
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| Serving sparkling grape juice for the toast |
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| Dr. Bauzá, scientific director of our team, recognizes the work of José Colón. |
Our team and volunteers held a toast with sparkling grape juice on September 28, 2013, at the Condado Lagoon, to celebrate ‘National Estuaries Day’. This activity is a reflection of the importance of these coastal ecosystems, simultaneously held by the 28 members of the National Estuary Program.
SJBEP also recognized the work of hundred of volunteers on projects such as bird census, installation of oysters as biofilters, red mangrove planting and cleanups and water quality monitoring, in which they became citizen scientists gathering data to help society be aware of environmental problems and take action in an informed manner.
Significant death toll of estuarine fish – During the last week of October, the SJBEP documented
a significant increase in the death toll of various estuarine species in the
San José and Los Corozos Lagoons. Water quality tests conducted by the SJBEP
specialists indicated that water conditions in the lagoons were basically
anoxic: dissolved oxygen concentrations in some points were only 0.77 mg/L ,
when healthy levels should exceed 5.00 mg/L. As a result the SJBEP issued a
press release informing the citizenship of the situation and advising people
not to come into contact with the potentially dangerous waters. The release was
published by several news media.
MillerCoors to donate 15 cents of each box of their product to help
restore the Estuary/ Employees help clean the Condado Lagoon- As part of its continuous
support to the SJBEP, MillerCoors will donate 15 cents of every 12-pack box of
Coors Light sold in the Island. The money will help support cleanup, water
quality monitoring and mangrove planting initiatives associated with Estuary
360, which will begin in December 2013, as well as other projects of the entity.
Also, for another consecutive
year, employees and managers of MillerCoors volunteered to plant and clean the
borders of the Estuarine Reserve of the Condado Lagoon. MillerCoors is an
active supporter of the SJBEP and takes a part in our cleanup and planting
initiatives. In this occasion the General Manager of the company in Puerto Rico
handed a donation to our organization’s Executive Director to help us further
the restoration of the San Juan Bay Estuary’s ecosystems.
Walmart helps preserve the San Juan Bay Estuary– On October, Walmart made a
$15,000 contribution to the SJBEP’s Special Fund. The donation will help the
SJBEP further some of its key conservation efforts.
Successful medication take-back campaign – On October 26, 2013 the Drug
Enforcement Agency coordinated this activity where citizens can safely dispose
of unused or unwanted prescribed medications. The SJBEP joined the activity to
help prevent these medications from reaching the bodies of water through the
sanitary system. For decades the
population of the Island has disposed of their unwanted medications throwing
the drugs in the toilets. The Authority
of the Convention Center District sponsored the project by offering to the
SJBEP a space at the Puerto Rico’s Coliseum (Choliseo) to establish a take-back
site. On October 26 from 10am to 2pm the
SJBEP carried out its second medication take-back campaign. From 10am to 2pm,
citizens were encouraged to return their expired and unwanted medications to a
confidential take-back point in front of Puerto Rico’s Coliseum.
Estuary’s Mega Cleanup – This is an activity coordinated by the charter boats
of the Cangrejos Yacht Club located in the Torrecillas Lagoon. The boat owners, organized by Israel
Umpierre, are very concerned with the marine debris accumulated in the
shorelines of the Eastern axis of the ecosystem and decided to take
action.
As part of the Estuary’s
Second Mega Cleanup, the SJBEP organized a shoreline cleanup with volunteers along
the coast of the San José Lagoon, in the Adolfo Dones Park area. With the help
of more than 50 volunteers coordinated by Gladys Rivera, the organization
managed to pick up approximately 700 pounds of solid waste accumulated in the
shores of the Lagoon. Various participants received a brief capacitation workshop
by the SJBEP’s water quality-monitoring expert, Ernesto Olivares and the
Executive Director Javier Laureano, and later on were able to test the waters
of the San José Lagoon. The initiative
helped raise awareness of the importance of proper waste disposal.
Volunteer divers help clean the Condado Lagoon- Eight divers managed to
take out of the Lagoon around 270 glass bottles from a 3,000 square meter area
in the bottom of this body of water. The event took place on Saturday, November
2, 2013 as part of the first the underwater cleanup organized by Cristina
Ramirez, coordinator of "The Condado Lagoon is My Home", a marine
debris initiative managed by the SJBEP in affiliation with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Among the items recovered were several plastic
bottles and cups, aluminum cans, pieces of foam, and even a steering wheel.
Also recovered from the bottom of the lagoon were 40 yards of fishing line, an
unsuspected found item given the fact that the Lagoon is a no-fishing zone.
