Thousands of water bottles intended for Hurricane Maria victims found unopened in Puerto Rico

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Aerial images captured by international news agency AFP show a sea of FEMA water bottles, packaged into massive bundles, heaped in what appears to be a private estate in Dorado, 25 miles west of San Juan.

Nearly two years after catastrophic Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of water bottles issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for survivors were found on a field, unopened and expired. Emergency aid officials confirmed the existence of the water bottles Monday.

International news agency AFP captured footage that shows crates of water sitting in the middle of a private estate in Dorado, located about 25 miles west of San Juan.

Following the release of the footage, FEMA has issued a response. A FEMA spokesman confirmed to AFP that the water bottles had been provided as part of relief for Hurricane Maria, which slammed into the island in September 2017. The powerful storm resulted in the deaths of thousands, destroyed infrastructure and devastated the island.

Tens of thousands of FEMA water bottles for hurricane victims were discovered unopened and expired in farmland in Puerto Rico. (Video Screenshot/ Ricardo Arduengo/ AFP)

Much of Puerto Rico spent months without power or water after the storm ripped through the United States territory.

Several news agencies - including CBS News - contacted FEMA with questions about the water, including why it was never delivered to victims. CBS News Correspondent David Begnaud received a response from FEMA and shared it on Twitter.

“FEMA had a surplus of water in its inventories that is now near or passed their expiration dates. FEMA followed federal acquisition processes in order to dispose of the expiring water that included offers to federal and territorial governments and public auction,” FEMA told CBS News in a statement Monday, July 29. “As a final step in the process, FEMA contracted to have the expired water removed and disposed. This process is underway, in accordance with contract terms, and is on target for September 2019 completion.”

Questions have arisen since the video was shared, with many wondering why the bottles weren't delivered to victims or how there was a surplus when the need was so high for so long in the wake of Hurricane Maria. These questions remain unanswered.

Beyond the questions, many Puerto Ricans who lived through the deadly storm and its aftermath, expressed anger upon the discovery of the water supply. One man noted that people had no water to shower with and were using rainwater to flush toilets. Meanwhile, others reportedly had to gather water from mountain springs for months.

"People on the island fell very ill or died because they were drinking contaminated water. Knowing this in contrast to the images of the water bottles is infuriating," one Twitter user said.

After Hurricane Maria, at least 74 Puerto Ricans were suspected to be suffering from leptospirosis. The disease is the result of contact with water that has been contaminated by animal urine, and some of those affected by leptospirosis in Puerto Rico at the time likely fell ill after drinking local stream water.

I have new information about those water bottles in Dorado, Puerto Rico. @FEMA got back to me with more details, plus I spoke with the Puerto Rico business owner who won a contract to dispose of the water and the bottles.



More tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/h6qa0ChYiD — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) July 31, 2019

Last September, a similar situation unfolded, when thousands of pallets of bottled water were discovered sitting on a runway in Ceiba.

The latest water bottle findings are released at a time when tensions are running high among Puerto Ricans and government officials. Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigned last week amid widespread protests that erupted both in the island, as well as around the world.

The scandal emerged in part due to leaked private chat messages between Rosselló and members of his staff in which they insulted victims of Hurricane Maria and used sexist and offensive comments to describe other Puerto Ricans.

In addition, six government officials were recently charged with embezzling $15 million in hurricane reconstruction money.