Alejandro García Padilla consults with Jenniffer González Colón on the 2015 drought

On August 17, 2026, El Nuevo Día reports that former governor Alejandro García Padilla met in the morning with Governor Jenniffer González Colón. The meeting, according to the newspaper, was before the Drought Committee's regular session. They spoke, among other things, of how to handle the drought. Alejandro García Padilla was in charge of the country when, in 2015, the island also faced a severe lack of rain. It is not an appointment. It is a consultation between a former Popular Democratic Party governor and the incumbent.

Leaving the Executive Mansion, Alejandro García Padilla said they spoke of country matters and of experiences, for example the handling of the drought: how some 2014-2015 ideas were put in place, what went well, and what, from outside, looks as if it can be improved. He added that one does not know the details of what is being done now. Asked whether the meeting was at her request or his, he replied that sometimes they converse as a matter of course. They also spoke of other government topics unrelated to the drought; he would not specify them.

In a recent interview with the same newspaper, Alejandro García Padilla summarized strategies of that time: reducing pressure on the distribution systems and production at the main filtration plants, transferring water from regional systems, reactivating wells out of service, and using the Super Aqueduct to take water to more critical zones. Those phrases are from that interview, cited here. They are not turned into a 2026 well count or a Super Aqueduct map.

Jenniffer González Colón recorded the meeting on Facebook. The message El Nuevo Día reproduces says that, facing the challenges of the supply system, they are evaluating prior experiences to identify measures that worked and lessons from that emergency. Last week, the newspaper adds, the governor met with members of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority Governing Board, at the body's request, and included former presidents José Ortiz and Elí Díaz Atienza. At the time of the note, the rationing plan remains for those supplied from Carraízo, with sectors of San Juan, Carolina, Loíza, Canóvanas, Juncos, Trujillo Alto, and Gurabo.

On August 6, El Nuevo Día covered Héctor Del Río Jiménez's resignation from the presidency of that board over the rationing plan. On August 12, the same newspaper covered board members denouncing a lack of communication. Those are other dates. This is the consultation of the 17th. There is no Drought Committee minute here and no yes or no on expanding rationing. What remain are the two names, the 2015 drought as a reference, and the Carraízo rationing the newspaper left standing.

Source: El Nuevo Día. https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/gobierno/notas/alejandro-garcia-padilla-y-jenniffer-gonzalez-intercambian-experiencias-sobre-como-atender-la-sequia/