For example, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 70 percent of the island's water failed to meet the standards of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (Dorell et al., 2017). This failure to meet standards, coupled with the sewage and pipe system particularly in rural areas, led to unsafe and unsecure water. The already poor water system crumbled further after the storm, resulting in critical damage to the water systems quality and infrastructure. According to Governor Rossello, a week after Hurricane Maria hit, half of Puerto Rico's residents were without drinking water (Bump, 2017). Additionally, two weeks after the hurricane, 44 percent of residents still lacked water service (Henry, 2017, Bacon, 2017). Still, one month later 29 percent, or one million residents were still without tap water (Henry, 2017). Such a severe breakdown of the water system both immediately, and extending to months after the hurricane was exacerbated by the previous weakness of Puerto Rico’s water infrastructure. Such an ailing component, should have been recognized and addresses prior to the disaster, particularly as water is the most critical resource for