San Juan Bay (Puerto Rico)
San Juan Bay provides a number of resources to Puerto Ricans, including commercial ports, beaches, recreation areas, and historic areas. The Bay, which is partially enclosed by surrounding marshes, mangroves, and land, has a limited ability to flushwater out, making it particularly susceptible to accumulation of toxic pollutants.
Viewer Tip: Withso many waterresourcestied to theSan Juan Bay — the Martín Peña, Suárez, and San Antonio channels, the Condado, Los Corozos, San José, Torrecilla, and Piñones lagoons, and the Puerto Nuevo River –it’s important to remember that what affects water quality upstream may also impact water quality miles away. One of the easiest ways to protect local water quality is to recycle or properly dispose of household wastes that contain chemicals, such as paints, pesticides, solvents, car fluids, and other products. When these products aredumped in the trash, outdoors, or in a storm drain, they can be carried directly to local streams and rivers when it rains, butproper disposal ensures that they stay out of our waters.
Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
(Sources: U.S. EPA National Estuary Program. June 2007. “National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report.” Available from: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/index.html;U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds. “After the Storm.” Available from: http://www.epa.gov/weatherchannel/stormwater.html.)