Next Article in Journal
Mapping Flood-Prone Areas Using GIS and Morphometric Analysis in the Mantaro Watershed, Peru: Approach to Susceptibility Assessment and Management
Previous Article in Journal
Leveraging Sustainable Development Goals to Transform Higher Education and Advance Sustainability Science
Previous Article in Special Issue
The Status of the Early-Stage Fish Resources and Hydrologic Influencing Conditions in the Guiping Section of the Xunjiang River
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 17
Issue 17
10.3390/su17177801
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Impacts of Precipitation Trends on Reservoirs and Rivers in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 2022

by
Gerardo Trossi-Torres
1,*,
Jonathan Muñoz-Barreto
1,*,
Luisa I. Feliciano-Cruz
1 and
Tarendra Lakhankar
2
1
Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, P.O. Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00681, USA
2
NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies II (CESSRST-II), The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(17), 7801; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177801
Submission received: 30 June 2025 / Revised: 4 August 2025 / Accepted: 4 August 2025 / Published: 29 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Practices for the Sustainable Management of Lake and River Hydrological Systems)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

Monitoring hydrologic variables over rivers and reservoirs is crucial for gaining insight into, preparing for, and mitigating future extreme weather events. This study aims to determine whether rainfall activity has contributed to changes in the rivers and reservoirs of Puerto Rico. Data from 114 stations across 19 watersheds between 1990 and 2022 were used to evaluate historical precipitation, reservoir surface elevation, river discharge, and gauge height. The Mann-Kendall test was used to detect trends, Sen’s slope test was applied to assess their magnitude, and correlation was used to determine the relationship between hydrological variables. Trend results showed that precipitation has decreased on average over the past 30 years, while surface elevation in reservoirs has increased. A similar tendency was observed for discharge and stream gauges in rivers, where contradictory trends may be due to factors other than precipitation. Correlations reflected these observations, where precipitation had a weak relationship with surface elevation and a strong relationship with river variables, but not across a large number of stations. Factors such as inadequate maintenance or sediment accumulation may be more significant contributors to this trend.

1. Introduction

Precipitation is a critical driver of the hydrologic cycle, replenishing freshwater in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Decadal climate variability around the world has shifted precipitation extremes and deficits, increasing the frequency of floods and droughts [1]. In the Caribbean, precipitation extremes are often associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, leading to flooding, ecosystem damage, and even loss of life [2,3,4]. Puerto Rico (PR), an island in the Caribbean, is vulnerable to such extremes due to its location in the Atlantic hurricane belt [5,6,7,8]. Catastrophic hurricanes such as Hurricane Maria (2017) and Fiona (2022) brought record rainfall and destructive flooding. Both systems delivered around 788 mm of precipitation in 72 h [9,10]. In contrast, deficits can trigger droughts that stress water supplies, agriculture, and ecosystems, ultimately impacting human daily life [5,11]. In the past two decades, Puerto Rico has experienced at least seven drought episodes along its southern, eastern, and southeastern regions. The most noticeable event occurred between 2014 and 2016, when the island experienced 80 consecutive weeks of moderate drought, which required widespread water rationing, affecting over a million residents and causing more than USD 14 million in agricultural losses [12,13]. These hydrologic extremes are becoming more common in Puerto Rico, with growing challenges for water resource management, and the uncertainty of understanding how long-term precipitation variability translates to river and reservoirs.
Events from prolonged droughts to hurricanes have highlighted the importance of understanding how precipitation trends translate into changes in river flows and reservoir storage [14,15]. Several regional and global studies have employed trend analysis techniques such as the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope to evaluate changes in streamflow and reservoir storage, demonstrating the relevance of such methods in hydrological assessment [16,17,18,19]. Recent studies have shown spatial and temporal changes in precipitation patterns in Puerto Rico between 1956 and 2021, with localized areas experiencing increments and reductions [20]. Similar findings have been reported across the Caribbean and other tropical island regions, where precipitation variability is influenced by large-scale climate phenomena such as ENSO and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation [21,22]. Moreover, extreme rainfall events are projected to become more intense due to global warming, increasing the risk of short-term flooding and long-term hydrologic imbalance [1]. While trends in rainfall have been examined, fewer studies have explored how these trends translate into changes in streamflow and reservoir dynamics, especially in island settings [23].
Watershed scale studies in Puerto Rico have noted complex hydrologic responses to climatic and land use changes [24], but broader regional assessments remain limited. Puerto Rico does not have natural lakes, relying on a network of manmade reservoirs for water storage and flood control [25]. The effective management of this coupled reservoir system is essential for ensuring the island’s water safekeeping and mitigating flood hazards [14,26]. Concerns have grown regarding sediment accumulations on reservoirs, impacting their storage capacity and limiting functionality. United States Geological Survey sedimentation studies have reported that storage capacities have reduced more than 50% of capacity [27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38], affecting life expectancy for reservoirs such as Lago Dos Bocas, La Plata, and Lago Loiza, among others [39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54]. While sedimentation dynamics have been studied in detail, integrated analyses that link precipitation variability with river discharge, water level, and reservoir surface elevation are lacking.
Therefore, this study aimed to assess whether long term precipitation trends have impacted hydrologic variables such as river discharge, gauge height, and reservoir surface elevation in Puerto Rico between 1990 and 2022. The objective was to evaluate the strength of the relationship between rainfall and the hydrological responses in both rivers and reservoirs, determining whether shifts in river and reservoir behavior were due to changes in precipitation.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area

The island of Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean (18°15′ N, 66°30′ W), has a population of 3,285,874 citizens [55]. Characterized by an annual precipitation average of 1520.70 mm from 1991 to 2020, and temperature means range from 27 °C to 22 °C along the island [56]. Precipitation activity is distributed in two seasons within the calendar year. Dry season is from December to April, where rainfall is less frequent, and the wet season is from May to November, with greater potential for extreme rainfall events [57,58]. The island’s land cover is composed of 59% forest, 13% developed, 10% agricultural, and 9% scrub land [59], with a hydro network of 224 rivers, 553 streams, and 39 reservoirs [60]. These are divided into 20 watersheds (WS) following the Hydrologic Unit Code 10 (HUC-10), where 19 covered the study area [61]. These watersheds are shown in Figure 1a, divided by the following regions: central north, eastern, southern, and western regions. The location of stations is indicated in Figure 1b by triangles, squares, and circles.

2.2. Evaluated Datasets

To create Figure 2, the study relied on the following three primary datasets: (1) daily precipitation from NOAA’s GHCN records, (2) reservoir surface elevation, and (3) river discharge and gauge height measurements, from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stations [62,63]. Daily precipitation data from 1990 to 2022 were obtained for 24 stations, aggregated to determine accumulated monthly precipitation, and divided into dry and wet season, and annual accumulation was determined interpolated using ArcGIS Pro Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Interpolations produced yearly accumulated rainfall across the island, obtaining estimates at selected USGS station locations. Daily reservoir surface elevation values (water height above a reference datum, NGVD 1929) were retrieved for 27 stations, and daily river discharge and gauge height mean were obtained for 87 river stations from USGS historical observations. Water surface elevations data were averaged monthly, divided by season, and averaged annually. River station data followed the same process, yielding annual time series for dry and wet seasons.

2.3. Trend Statistical Methods

To assess long-term hydrological and climatic trends across Puerto Rico, we conducted a series of statistical analyses focused on identifying trends and evaluating relationships among key variables. Nonparametric trend analysis and correlation analysis were employed to evaluate long term changes and relationships.

2.3.1. Mann-Kendall—Sen’s Slope

First, to detect trends over the 1990–2022 period, we applied the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and estimated the magnitude of change using Sen’s slope estimator, following the methodology outlined by Hirsch in 1982 [64]. This approach is widely accepted for environmental and hydrological time series due to its robustness to non-normality and missing values.
To determine the magnitude of the trend from the Mann-Kendall tau, it is determined using Sen’s Slope (SS) By calculating pairwise slopes for every pair of observations (xi, yi) and (xj, yj), where i < j.
Q i j = y j − y i x j − x i
Then, the slope of the trend is the median,
slope = median (Qij)
reducing the influence of outliers, as it uses the median instead of the mean.

2.3.2. Correlation

Next, to examine the relationship between rainfall trend and hydrologic response, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of the linear relationship between precipitation and hydrologic variables on an annual and seasonal basis. For the two variables X and Y, the Pearson correlation coefficient, r, is calculated as follows:
r = c o v ( X , Y ) σ x σ y
where cov(X, Y) is the covariance between X and Y, and σx, σy are the standard deviations of X and Y. Therefore, the covariance calculation to measure how much two random variables vary together can be calculated as follows:
c o v X , Y =   1 n − 1 ∑ i = 1 n ( x i − x ¯ ) ( y i − y ¯ )
where n is the number of observations, and x ¯ and y ¯ are the means of the variables X and Y.

3. Results

3.1. Reservoir Trends

Long-term trends in precipitation and reservoir surface elevation were evaluated for both dry and wet seasons using the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope. Results indicated that 89% of reservoir stations exhibited declining precipitation, while the other 11% increased in both seasons. Despite the shift in precipitation, reservoir surface elevations exhibited an increase. In the dry season, 75% of stations showed rising trends, and 79% showed them in the wet season. Sen’s slope magnitudes revealed precipitation declines up to −13.46 mm/yr and surface elevation increases as high as +6.07 m/yr.

3.1.1. Reservoir Dry Season Results

Precipitation decreased on average across all regions (Table 1), particularly in the western and southern regions, whereas reservoir surface elevations increased on average in all regions. As watershed results presented, in Figure 3a, the most pronounced average SS-DReP, declines were observed in the southern (WS-09: −6.6 mm/yr) and western (WS-03: −5.84 mm/yr) regions. Watersheds, such as in the central north (WS-15: 0.25 mm/yr) and the east (WS-17: 0.51 mm/yr), showed a slight average increase, but overall trends were predominantly negative.
A contradictory rise in surface elevation (Figure 3b) was observed in most watersheds, where it may be prone to accumulated sedimentation. WS-09 with 2.59 m/yr had the most significant increase in elevation, while smaller positive slopes in humid eastern basins (e.g., WS-17: 0.015 m/yr) were obtained. Decreasing average surface elevation was predominant in watersheds such as WS-16: −0.12 m/yr, WS-01: −0.03 m/yr, and WS-05: −0.01 m/yr. As for the correlation between precipitation and reservoir surface elevation, a consistently weak relationship was determined during the dry season, where 63% of the stations exhibited nonlinear relationships while the remaining 27% showed positive or negative low correlations.

3.1.2. Reservoir Wet Season Results

In the wet season, same as dry, precipitation trends indicated consistent average declines across all regions. The most predominant decrease, as shown in Table 2, was in the eastern region, with an average of −13.46 mm/yr. Observed trends in dry season precipitation, Figure 4a, demonstrated a decline in wet season precipitation that is concurrent with increasing reservoir surface elevations. Regarding surface elevation results, an average increase was observed across all regions.
Regarding surface elevation during the wet season, as shown in Figure 4b, an overall incremental trend was observed. As for WS-09, with a 2.59 m/yr average in the southern region, it had the most average elevation increase across all regions. In the eastern region, WS-20: 0.15 m/yr demonstrated the second most substantial average elevation increase, whereas WS-17: 0.009 m/yr showed a modest average rise. Correlations between precipitation and reservoir surface elevation reflected the same pattern as the dry season, where 58% in the wet season exhibited nonlinear relationships, with the remaining 38% showing positive to negative low and 4% showing moderately positive. This indicates that precipitation is not the primary factor in surface elevation trends.

3.2. River Trends

3.2.1. River Dry Season Results

Evaluated river stations exhibited an average decreasing trend in precipitation during the dry season, as indicated by the MK-DRiP (Figure 5a). The average SS-DRiP region analysis, such as those shown Table 3, revealed that the southern region had the largest average decrease, followed by the western region. As show in Figure 5b, regional river gauge height exhibited both increasing and decreasing trends across Puerto Rico. The western region, as presented in Table 3, showed an average increasing trend in gauge height according to the SS-DRiGH. In contrast, the southern, central north, and eastern regions displayed average decreasing trends. The dry season river discharge results in Figure 5c vary by region, as indicated by MK-DRiD. In contrast, the western region had the most pronounced average change.
Dry season precipitation over rivers, MK-DRiP, showed predominantly average decreasing patterns, which are presented in Figure 5a, consistent with previously observed trends in reservoir locations. The southern and western regions exhibited the sharpest declines, reflecting a pronounced and persistent trend in Puerto Rico’s more arid zones. The central north region presented a mixed scenario, with half of the watersheds exhibiting slight average increases in precipitation. In contrast, all watersheds in the eastern region demonstrated decreasing precipitation trends. As shown in Figure 5b, river gauge height trends are markedly diverse across Puerto Rico’s hydro regions. The central north half of its watersheds showed an average increase, whereas WS-13: 0.009 m/yr showed the steepest average increase. Gauge height trends diverge from the island-wide precipitation decline, underscoring the influence of basin-specific controls. Average declines in south and central north gauges (e.g., WS-12: −0.006 m/yr, WS-11: −0.04 m/yr) may be due to reduced inflow or sediment infilling that impede adequate channel capacity. Conversely, modest average increases in WS-13: 0.009 m/yr and WS-19: 0.003 m/yr may reflect episodic recharge from localized convective storms, upstream dam releases timed to the dry season, or minimal human interference in headwater reaches.
Dry season discharge (SS-DRiD) in Figure 5c displays firm spatial heterogeneity across Puerto Rico. These highlighted trends in the central north include two watersheds (WS-10: 0.035, WS-15: 0.006 cms/yr) that exhibit modest but significant average increases. However, the remaining four declined the following amounts, on average: WS-11: −0.12 cms/yr recorded the steepest drop, and WS-13: −0.002 cms/yr the mildest. In the eastern region, WS-17: 0.004 cms/yr had the highest average increase, WS-19: 0.002 cms/yr had the smallest, while WS-20: −0.089 cms/yr and WS-18: −0.002 cms/yr declined. An average decreasing trend dominated the south; only WS-16: 0.001 cms/yr had a marginal gain, whereas WS-06: −0.005 cms/yr descended most sharply, followed by WS-12: −0.001 cms/yr. In contrast, the western three of five watersheds (WS-02: 0.71, WS-04: 0.01, WS-05: −0.003 cms/yr) registered positive trends, led by the dramatic rise in WS-02, while WS-01: −0.017 cms/yr alone substantially declined. The discharge patterns reinforce, but also complicate, the narrative of declining dry season rainfall. Decreases in the central north, east, and south align with precipitation declines, yet the pronounced average rise in western basins, especially WS-02: 0.71 cms/yr, reveals a regional decoupling of runoff from rainfall, where average discharge drops most steeply (WS-11: −0.12, WS-20: −0.089, WS-06: −0.005 cms/yr).
The dry season correlations revealed a mixed relationship. For precipitation against gauge height, 57% of the stations exhibited a nonlinear relationship. However, 38% (15% strong, 10% moderate, 13% low) of the stations displayed positive relationships, while 6% (2% strong, 2% moderate, 2% low) demonstrated negative relationships. As for precipitation against discharge, 85% (41% strong, 31% moderate, 13% low) of stations had a positive correlation, 13% exhibited nonlinear relationships, while 2% had negative low relationships. Regarding discharge against gauge height, the results suggest that a considerable number of stations exhibit a predominantly positive association, with 64% (23% strong, 20% moderate, 21% low) having positive, 33% having nonlinear, and 3% having negative low relationships in the dry season.

3.2.2. River Wet Season Results

Precipitation on rivers during the wet season, as shown in Figure 6a, has exhibited an overall decreasing trend over the past 30 years. The SS-WRiP in the western region showed the largest average decreasing change, as depicted in Table 4, followed by the southern region. The central north region had the smallest average decrease, followed by the eastern region. For gauge height trends, as shown in Figure 6b, a similar pattern to the dry season was observed, and the western region exhibited an increasing trend with a positive average SS-WRiGH.
In contrast, the southern and eastern regions showed the same decreasing change, while the central north region displayed a minimal change. In contrast to the dry season, as shown in Figure 6c, all regions exhibited positive discharge trends during the wet season. The central north region experienced the highest regional average increase, the eastern region showed a modest rise, while the southern region recorded the smallest average increase.
In the central north region, in Figure 6a, decreasing precipitation trends were observed. For example, WS-15: −1.52 mm/yr exhibited the most significant average decline, and WS-11: −0.76 mm/yr had the smallest decrease. However, WS-10: 0.76 mm/yr demonstrated an average increasing precipitation trend. In the eastern region, trends were more heterogeneous, where WS-19: 2.54 mm/yr showed the most substantial average increase, followed by WS-20: 2.29 mm/yr. Conversely, WS-17: −3.05 mm/yr exhibited the most significant average decline, closely followed by WS-18: −2.79 mm/yr. The southern region exhibited consistently decreasing precipitation trends across all watersheds, with WS-09: −9.4 cms/yr recording the most pronounced reduction, whereas WS-12: −3.56 mm/yr showed a relatively smaller decline. In the western region, all watersheds presented decreasing trends, with WS-03: −13.97 mm/yr experiencing the largest average decline and WS-05: −5.33 mm/yr showing the smallest reduction.
Moving to gauge height trends, Figure 6b shows that the central north region’s trends varied significantly, where WS-13: 0.009 m/yr recorded the highest average increase, while WS-07: 0.083 m/yr showed a minimal increase. Conversely, WS-11: −0.021 m/yr exhibited the largest average decline, with WS-14: −0.015 m/yr showing the smallest reduction. The eastern region predominantly showed decreasing average trends, except for WS-19: 0.003 m/yr, which exhibited a slight increase. Notably, watersheds WS-17 and WS-18 had identical average decreases, −0.006 m/yr, while WS-20 presented a less pronounced decline of −0.003 m/yr. In the southern region, data indicated a pronounced average decreasing trend in WS-12: −0.009 m/yr, emphasizing the vulnerability of water availability linked to sustained precipitation declines and possibly enhanced water extraction activities. Meanwhile, the western region, represented solely by WS-01: 0.009 m/yr, exhibited an average rising gauge height. The analysis of river discharge during the wet season, as shown in Figure 6c, reveals an overall increasing trend in average discharge across watersheds. In the central north region, there was an average increasing discharge on all watersheds, with WS-11: 0.95 cms/yr showing the highest average increase.
Correlations in the wet season of precipitation and gauge height followed a pattern similar to that of the dry season, where 51% of the stations exhibited a nonlinear relationship. The other 44% (8% strong, 18% moderate, 18% low) of the stations displayed positive correlations, while 6% (2% strong, 2% moderate, 2% low) demonstrated negative. Regarding correlations between discharge and precipitation in the wet season, 73% (16% strong, 39% moderate, 18% low) of stations had positive correlations, 20% had nonlinear correlations, and 6% (3% strong, 3% moderate) had negative correlations. The predominance of strong and moderate positive correlations indicates that river discharge is highly sensitive to rainfall. Regarding discharge against gauge height, a considerable number of stations, 78%, exhibited a predominantly positive relationship (31% strong, 16% moderate, 31% low) and 22% nonlinear in the wet season.

4. Discussion

The island precipitation decline corroborates regional climate established assessments of a multidecadal rainfall decline in the Caribbean that align with broader regional findings, indicating a reduction in recent decades that is attributed to changes in trade wind patterns, sea surface temperature increases, and weakened convective rainfall systems [3,5,6]. These drying patterns are also projected to continue under climate variability, with potential annual rainfall reductions of up to 25% in some life zones of the island threatening both ecological and human water demands [4]. The sharpest dry season reductions occurred in the southern and western regions, which are historically more arid, highlighting their increasing vulnerability to prolonged drought and water stress. Meanwhile, isolated increases in the central north may reflect localized orographic effects or convective storms.
The western domain is prone to be vulnerable, where WS-03 alone has declined roughly to a total average of −175 mm in the past 30 years, creating pressure on agricultural and municipal demand. In the southern region, the −198 mm total average reduction for WS-09 coincided with historically low levels at the Guánica and Yauco reservoirs [2]. The average precipitation reduction in the southern region is particularly concerning due to its dependence on orographic rainfall and proximity to critical coastal reservoirs. These findings are consistent with previous studies that have documented diminished hurricane-associated rainfall and reduced hydrological productivity in Puerto Rico [11]. Although isolated catchments in the central north (e.g., WS-15) and east (e.g., WS-17) show neutral to positive trends, persistent negative slopes indicate a systemic hydroclimatic shift, which is attributed to anthropogenic climate change, altered sea surface temperature gradients, and reduced convective activity during wet seasons [5,6].
Despite precipitation reduction trends, most reservoirs showed increments of surface elevation across both seasons examined. This contrast suggests that precipitation is not the primary reason for surface elevation increments. More than half of the watersheds analyzed showed nonlinear relationships, exhibiting a growing influence of hydrological and anthropogenic factors. This contradiction may be plausible due to the sediment accumulation within reservoirs, which raises water surface “artificially” while reducing storage capacity. This effect has been reported for various reservoirs around Puerto Rico.
For example, in the north central region, the “Lago Garzas” dam increased by about 2.73 m in the dry season and 3.32 m in the wet season in total over the past 30 years. From 1996 to 2007, a change in storage capacity in the dam from 5.11 Mm3 to 4.99 Mm3 was reported, determining a sediment accumulation of 0.81 Mm3. Weak correlations showed the low ratio to precipitation and the drastic increase in surface elevation [27,28]. In the “Lago de Cidra” dam, a similar report was obtained, with a reduction in capacity of 5.76 Mm3 (1997) to 5.63 Mm3 (2007), which is a 14% loss. This is reflected in the total surface elevation change of 2.92 m over the past 30 years. In the case of these two dams, the last study reported was 15 years before 2022; therefore, the accumulation of sediment should be greater in the present [29,30]. The “Lago Caonilla” dam had the largest reported sediment accumulation and the largest change in surface elevation. A storage capacity of 49.25 Mm3 was reported in 1990, and one of 39.55 Mm3 was reported in 2012, which is a change in sediment accumulation from 6.41 to 16.11 Mm3. This is reflected in the total surface elevation of 13.46 m [36,37,38]. “Lago Dos Bocas” had the lowest surface elevation change of the dams, with reports of a total surface elevation of 1.17 m, according to a sediment accumulation of 4.57 Mm3 in 1997, a storage capacity of 21.31 Mm3, and, in 2010, one of 16.74 Mm3 [40,41,42,43,44]. In the case of “Lago Loiza” in the WS-17 east basin, a slight increase of 0.29 m of surface elevation occurred. This may be reflected in reports where, in 1990, there was a storage capacity of 16.38 Mm3, and in 2004, it increased to 17.53 Mm3 and, in 2019, fell again to 15.06 Mm3. In the south region, the same behavior was observed; the reservoirs with the most pronounced sediment accumulations had higher surface elevation changes [48,49,50,51,52]. For “Lago Lucchetti” on WS-06, reports indicated an increase in storage capacity from 15.84 Mm3 in 1986 to 10.21 Mm3 in 2014, whereas the total surface elevation change was 4.49 m [34,35]. For each reservoir, the circumstances may be different, but precipitation may not be an indicator that affects the reservoir, and sediment accumulation may be.
Site-specific vulnerabilities, such as land use change or unmonitored withdrawals, can impact storage. These contrasting signals highlight the need for watershed scale diagnostics of sedimentation, inflow, and demand, which must be considered in future research to determine these trends. In contrast, previous studies have reported that sediment accumulation reduces storage capacity and alters the hydrological response of reservoirs to rainfall events [14,25].
During the wet season, rainfall over rivers declined particularly in the western and southern regions, while all regions experienced increasing discharge, most notably in the central north. This suggests the influence of factors beyond rainfall totals, such as reduced vegetation cover, or changes in storm frequency. Reports anticipate a future marked by more intense and irregular precipitation events that may elevate flood risk while reducing overall water availability [4]. These altered precipitation dynamics may lead to less infiltration, more rapid runoff, and elevated discharge, even in regions with declining cumulative rainfall. River gauge height trends displayed notable spatial heterogeneity. In western watersheds, gauge heights increased modestly, while declines were observed in central north, southern, and eastern regions. These patterns diverge from precipitation trends, suggesting the influence of basin-specific controls, such as sedimentation, water withdrawals, land use, and upstream reservoir releases. Notably, increases in gauge height may also be tied to episodic recharge events or minimal disturbance in upper basins. In discharge patterns during the dry season, various watersheds showed decreases in line with precipitation declines. Particularly, the western region registered substantial increase. For example, WS-02 may indicate a decoupling of rainfall and runoff, potentially driven by altered land cover, reduced infiltration capacity, or human management. Correlation analyses supported the dominant role of precipitation affecting discharge, especially in the dry season. A significant portion of stations (85%) showed strong to moderate positive correlations between rainfall and discharge, reaffirming expected hydrological behavior. However, precipitation against gauge height relationships were more variable; more than half of the stations (57%) displayed nonlinear associations, suggesting that other processes, such as antecedent moisture conditions, channel morphology, and extraction pressure, modulate river stage responses. Similarly, the discharge and gauge height relationship, though generally positive, exhibited nonlinear behavior in a third of the stations. These nonlinearities are especially evident during low-flow periods, when small changes in volume may not proportionally affect stage height due to instream obstructions, weirs, or morphological changes.
These findings highlight a critical and ongoing transition towards drier wet seasons across Puerto Rico, demanding strategic water resource management and proactive adaptation measures to mitigate future hydrological and socioeconomic impacts. Continuous declines in precipitation could negatively impact groundwater recharge and surface water flows, potentially affecting ecosystems and smaller, less closely monitored reservoirs.

5. Conclusions

This study aimed to assess long term trends and relationships among precipitation, river discharge, gauge height, and reservoir surface elevation across Puerto Rico over the past 30 years. The results highlight spatially heterogeneous yet discernible patterns. Precipitation showed an overall declining trend, particularly in the southern and western regions, while some areas in the central north and east experienced neutral to increasing trends. River discharge displayed a modest island-wide upward trend, despite decreasing rainfall, suggesting altered runoff dynamics potentially influenced by rainfall intensity, land use changes, or human management.
Gauge height trends revealed spatial divergence, with increases in the north and east but declines in the south and southeast. These trends did not align linearly with precipitation, as more than half the stations exhibited nonlinear correlations. In contrast, discharge showed a stronger and more consistent relationship with gauge height, emphasizing its role as a key driver of river stage variability. Reservoirs across the island exhibited increasing surface elevations during both seasons, contradicting the broader trend of declining precipitation. Weak and nonlinear correlations between precipitation and reservoir elevation suggest that sediment accumulation documented in multiple case studies plays a substantial role. This accumulation can artificially raise surface elevation while simultaneously reducing storage capacity, underlining the importance of sediment monitoring in water resource assessments.
This study successfully met its objective by uncovering these spatial and seasonal dynamics and by identifying nonlinear relationships that challenge simplistic rainfall runoff assumptions. However, several limitations must be acknowledged. First, the analysis was constrained by data availability, particularly the infrequency of updated sediment surveys and reservoir capacity records. Second, while correlations were used to explore relationships among variables, causality cannot be definitively established without process-based modeling or finer temporal resolution data. Third, the influence of anthropogenic factors such as land use change, water withdrawals, and reservoir management was inferred but not directly measured.
Future work should incorporate higher-resolution hydrological modeling, integrate land use and management data, and explore sedimentation trends in greater detail to improve water resource forecasting under ongoing climatic and anthropogenic pressures.

6. Recommendation

Future work for this study would be to (1) further evaluate the 30 years of results; (2) analyze the dry and wet seasons by decades and observe how they have changed in more detail; and (3) observe how extreme events have impacted the areas studied over the years and determine if these events have had a lasting impact.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, G.T.-T. and J.M.-B.; methodology, G.T.-T.; validation, G.T.-T., J.M.-B., L.I.F.-C. and T.L.; formal analysis, G.T.-T.; investigation, G.T.-T.; resources, J.M.-B.; data curation, G.T.-T.; writing—original draft preparation, G.T.-T.; writing—review and editing, G.T.-T., J.M.-B., L.I.F.-C. and T.L.; visualization, G.T.-T.; supervision, J.M.-B.; project administration, J.M.-B.; funding acquisition, J.M.-B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study is supported and monitored by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies under the Cooperative Agreement Grant #: NA22SEC4810016. The authors would like to thank the NOAA Office of Education, The Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (NOAA-EPP/MSI), and the NOAA-CESSRST-II for full fellowship support for Gerardo Trossi-Torres. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Available upon request.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, the City University of New York, and the Weather Forecast Office of San Juan for helping throughout this study. During the preparation of this manuscript/study, the authors used Grammarly for the purposes of reviewing and improving the manuscript. The authors have reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content of this publication.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:
GHCNGlobal Historical Climatology Network
GISGeographic Information System
HUC-10Hydrologic Unit Code 10
MKMann-Kendall
MK-DRePMann Kendall Dry Season Reservoir Precipitation
MK-DReSEMann Kendall Dry Season Reservoir Surface Elevation
MK-DRiDMann Kendall Dry Season River Discharge
MK-DRiGHMann Kendall Dry Season River Gauge Height
MK-DRiPMann Kendall Dry Season River Precipitation
MK-WRePMann Kendall Wet Season Reservoir Precipitation
MK-WReSEMann Kendall Wet Season Reservoir Surface Elevation
MK-WRiDMann Kendall Wet Season River Discharge
MK-WRiGHMann Kendall Wet Season River Gauge Height
MK-WRiPMann Kendall Wet Season River Precipitation
NGVD1929National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
SSSen’s Slope
SS-DRePSen’s Slope Dry Season Reservoir Precipitation
SS-DReSESen’s Slope Dry Season Reservoir Surface Elevation
SS-DRiDSen’s Slope Dry Season River Discharge
SS-DRiGHSen’s Slope Dry Season River Gauge Height
SS-DRiPSen’s Slope Dry Season River Precipitation
SS-WRePSen’s Slope Wet Season Reservoir Precipitation
SS-WReSESen’s Slope Wet Season Reservoir Surface Elevation
SS-WRiDSen’s Slope Wet Season River Discharge
SS-WRiGHSen’s Slope Wet Season River Gauge Height
SS-WRiPSen’s Slope Wet Season River Precipitation
USGSUnited States Geological Survey
WSWatershed

References

  1. IPCC AR6 Working Group 1: Summary for Policymakers. IPCC. 2021. Available online: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/summary-for-policymakers/ (accessed on 15 July 2025).
  2. Gould, W.A.; Castro-Prieto, J.; Álvarez-Berríos, N.L. Climate change and biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean Islands. In Elsevier eBooks; Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2019; pp. 114–125. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  3. Peterson, T.C.; Taylor, M.A.; Demeritte, R.; Duncombe, D.L.; Burton, S.; Thompson, F.; Porter, A.; Mercedes, M.; Villegas, E.; Fils, R.S.; et al. Recent changes in climate extremes in the Caribbean region. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. 2002, 107, ACL 16-1–ACL 16-9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. DRNA|Puerto Rico Forest Action Plan. 2021. Available online: https://estudiostecnicos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SFAP-september-23-2021-Copy.pdf (accessed on 30 February 2025).
  5. Taylor, M.A.; Clarke, L.A.; Centella, A.; Bezanilla, A.; Stephenson, T.S.; Jones, J.J.; Campbell, J.D.; Vichot, A.; Charlery, J. Future Caribbean Climates in a World of Rising Temperatures: The 1.5 vs 2.0 Dilemma. J. Clim. 2018, 31, 2907–2926. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  6. Bowden, J.H.; Terando, A.J.; Misra, V.; Wootten, A.; Bhardwaj, A.; Boyles, R.; Gould, W.; Collazo, J.A.; Spero, T.L. High-resolution dynamically downscaled rainfall and temperature projections for ecological life zones within Puerto Rico and for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Int. J. Clim. 2020, 41, 1305–1327. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. Gao, Q.; Yu, M. Forest cover and locality regulate response of watershed discharge to rainfall variability in Caribbean region. Forests 2024, 15, 154. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Luhring-González, N.I.; Ortiz-Zayas, J.R.; Barreto, M. Hydrological Assessment for Watershed Health in a Headwater Sub-Basin of the Rio Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico. J. Geosci. Environ. Prot. 2023, 11, 58–80. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  9. 9. Climate Review for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 2022. National Weather Service. Available online: https://www.weather.gov/media/sju/climo/monthly_reports/2022/2022.pdf (accessed on 28 April 2025).
  10. Leffler, T. Fiona’s Rainfall Totals in Puerto Rico Rival Hurricane Maria’s Downpours. AccuWeather. 20 September 2022. Available online: https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/fiona-rainfall-totals-in-puerto-rico-rival-hurricane-marias-downpours/1249695 (accessed on 15 May 2025).
  11. Méndez-Lázaro, P.; Muller-Karger, F.E.; Otis, D.; McCarthy, M.J.; Rodríguez, E. A heat vulnerability index to improve urban public health management in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Int. J. Biometeorol. 2017, 62, 709–722. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  12. Álvarez-Berríos, N.L.; Soto-Bayó, S.; Holupchinski, E.; Fain, S.J.; Gould, W.A. Correlating drought conservation practices and drought vulnerability in a tropical agricultural system. Renew. Agric. Food Syst. 2018, 33, 279–291. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  13. Puerto Rico|Drought.gov. Drought.gov. Available online: https://www.drought.gov/states/puerto-rico (accessed on 10 April 2025).
  14. Murphy, S.F.; Stallard, R.F.; Larsen, M.C.; Gould, W.A. Water Quality and Landscape Processes of Four Watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico. In USGS Publication Warehouse (Professional Paper 1789–A). 2012. Available online: https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1789/PP1789.pdf (accessed on 15 May 2025).
  15. Comarazamy, D.E.; González, J.E. Regional long-term climate change (1950–2000) in the midtropical Atlantic and its impacts on the hydrological cycle of Puerto Rico. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos. 2011, 116. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  16. Burn, D.H.; Elnur, M.A.H. Detection of hydrologic trends and variability. J. Hydrol. 2002, 255, 107–122. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  17. Milly, P.C.D.; Dunne, K.A.; Vecchia, A.V. Global pattern of trends in streamflow and water availability in a changing climate. Nature 2005, 438, 347–350. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  18. Chen, Y.; Guan, Y.; Shao, G.; Zhang, D. Investigating Trends in Streamflow and Precipitation in Huangfuchuan Basin with Wavelet Analysis and the Mann-Kendall Test. Water 2016, 8, 77. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  19. Zhou, T.; Nijssen, B.; Gao, H.; Lettenmaier, D.P. The contribution of reservoirs to global land surface water storage variations*. J. Hydrometeorol. 2015, 17, 309–325. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  20. Ayala, J.J.H.; Tejeda, R.M. Examining the spatiotemporal changes in the annual, seasonal, and daily rainfall climatology of Puerto Rico. Climate 2023, 11, 225. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  21. Taylor, M.A.; Enfield, D.B.; Chen, A.A. Influence of the tropical Atlantic versus the tropical Pacific on Caribbean rainfall. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 2002, 107, 10-1–10-14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  22. Martinez, C.; Kushnir, Y.; Goddard, L.; Ting, M. Interannual variability of the early and late-rainy seasons in the Caribbean. Clim. Dyn. 2020, 55, 1563–1583. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  23. Asadieh, B.; Krakauer, N.Y. Global trends in extreme precipitation: Climate models versus observations. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 2015, 19, 877–891. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  24. Gould, W.A.; Martinuzzi, S.; Pares-Ramos, I.K.; Murphy, S.F.; Stallard, R.F. Land use, population dynamics, and land-cover change in eastern Puerto Rico. In Water Quality and Landscape Processes of Four Watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico; Chapter B; USGS Professional Paper; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2012; pp. 25–42. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  25. Gomez-Fragoso, J. Bathymetric Survey and Sedimentation Analysis of Lago Carite, Puerto Rico, January 2018; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2020. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  26. Cosgrove, B. The National Water Model. National Water Prediction Service. Available online: https://water.noaa.gov/about/nwm (accessed on 28 April 2025).
  27. Soler-López, L.R.; Webb, R.M.; Perez-Blair, F. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Garzas, Puerto Rico, September 1996; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1999. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  28. Soler-Lopez, L. USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3218: Storage Capacity and Sedimentation Trends of Lago Garzas, Puerto Rico, 1996–2007. 2012. Available online: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3218/ (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  29. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago de Cidra, Puerto Rico, November 1997; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1999. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  30. Soler-López, L.R. USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3118: Sedimentation Survey of Lago de Cidra, Puerto Rico, August 2007. 2010. Available online: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3118/ (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  31. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation History of Lago Guayabal, Puerto Rico, 1913–2001; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2003. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  32. Soler-López, L.R. Comparison of Storage Capacity and Sedimentation Trends of Lago Guayabal, Puerto Rico-December 2001 and October 2006; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2008. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  33. Gómez-Fragoso, J.M.; Rosario, M. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Guayabal, Villalba, Puerto Rico, December 2017; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2019. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  34. Soler-Lopez, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Lucchetti, Puerto Rico, March 2000; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2001. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  35. Gómez-Fragoso, J. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Lucchetti, Yauco, Puerto Rico, September 2013–May 2014; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  36. Webb, R.M.; Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Caonillas, Puerto Rico, February 1995; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1996. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Caonillas, Puerto Rico, February 2000; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2001. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  38. Soler-Lopez, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Caonillas, Utuado, Puerto Rico, September–November 2012; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  39. Webb, R.M.T.; Gómez-Gómez, F. Sedimentation Survey of Lago dos Bocas, Puerto Rico, August 1994; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1996. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  40. Soler-Lopez, L.; Webb, R.M. Sedimentation Survey of Lago dos Bocas, Puerto Rico, June 1997; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1998. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  41. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago dos Bocas, Puerto Rico, October 1999; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2001. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  42. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation History of Lago dos Bocas, Puerto Rico, 1942–2005; Scientific Investigations Report; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2007. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  43. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago dos Bocas, Utuado, Puerto Rico, January 2010; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2014. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  44. Soler-López, L.R.; Webb, R.M.; Carrasquillo-Nieves, R.A. Sedimentation Survey of Lago la Plata, Puerto Rico, October 1998; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2000. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  45. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago la Plata, Puerto Rico, July 2006; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2008. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  46. Gómez-Fragoso, J. Sedimentation Survey of Lago la Plata, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, March–April 2015; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  47. Gellis, A.; Webb, R.; Wolfe, W.; McIntyre, S. Effects of Land Use on Upland Erosion, Sediment Transport, and Reservoir Sedimentation, Lago Loiza basin, Puerto Rico; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1999. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  48. Collar, P.; Guzman-Rios, S. Sedimentation Rates and Capacity Restoration Options, Lago Loíza, Puerto Rico. 1991. Available online: https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70171270 (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  49. Gellis, A. The effects of hurricane hugo on suspended-sediment loads, Lago loíza Basin, Puerto Rico. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 1993, 18, 505–517. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  50. Soler-López, L.R.; Licha-Soler, N. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Loíza, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, July 2009; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2014. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  51. Soler-López, L.R.; Gómez-Gómez, F. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Loiza, Puerto Rico, January 2004; Scientific Investigations Report; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2006. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  52. Soler-López, L.R.; Webb, R.M.; Perez-Blair, F. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Patillas, Puerto Rico, April 1997; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 1999. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  53. Soler-López, L.R. Sedimentation Survey of Lago Patillas, Puerto Rico, March 2007; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2010. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  54. Gómez-Fragoso, J.M. Bathymetric Survey and Sedimentation Analysis of Lago Patillas, Puerto Rico, August 2019; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  55. US Census Bureau. 2020 Census Apportionment Results. Census.gov. 7 June 2024. Available online: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-apportionment-data.html (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  56. Comparative Climatic Data (CCD). 7 February 2025. National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Available online: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/comparative-climatic-data (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  57. Diaz, H.F.; Pulwarty, R. Hurricanes: Climate and Socioeconomic Impacts; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 1997. [Google Scholar]
  58. Destouches, C.; Diedhiou, A.; Anquetin, S.; Hingray, B.; Pierre, A.; Boisson, D.; Joseph, A. Changes in extreme precipitation patterns over the Greater Antilles and teleconnection with large-scale sea surface temperature. Earth Syst. Dyn. 2025, 16, 497–512. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  59. C-CAP Land Cover, Puerto Rico, 2010|InPort. 25 January 2017. Available online: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/48301 (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  60. Reserva Natural de Investigación Estuarina de Bahia de Jobos: Plan de Manejo 2017–2022; Department of Natural and Environmental Resources: Washington, DC, USA, 2017. Available online: https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Reserva_natural_de_investigaci%C3%B3n_estuar.html?id=-3qDzQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  61. Gómez-Gómez, F.; Rodríguez-Martínez, J.; Santiago, M. Hydrogeology of Puerto Rico and the Outlying Islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona; Scientific Investigations Map; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2014. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  62. Menne, M.J.; Durre, I.; Vose, R.S.; Gleason, B.E.; Houston, T.G. An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily Database. J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol. 2012, 29, 897–910. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  63. USGS Water Data for Puerto Rico. Available online: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/pr/nwis? (accessed on 10 May 2025).
  64. Hirsch, R.M.; Slack, J.R.; Smith, R.A. Techniques of trend analysis for monthly water quality data. Water Resour. Res. 1982, 18, 107–121. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Sustainability 17 07801 g001
Figure 1. (a) Watersheds in the study area; (b) monitoring station locations including data from Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) weather stations (triangles), USGS stream gauges (circles), and USGS reservoir gauges (squares) across Puerto Rico.
Figure 1. (a) Watersheds in the study area; (b) monitoring station locations including data from Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) weather stations (triangles), USGS stream gauges (circles), and USGS reservoir gauges (squares) across Puerto Rico.
Sustainability 17 07801 g001
Sustainability 17 07801 g002
Figure 2. Preparation process for GHCN precipitation, reservoir, and river USGS station datasets.
Figure 2. Preparation process for GHCN precipitation, reservoir, and river USGS station datasets.
Sustainability 17 07801 g002
Sustainability 17 07801 g003
Figure 3. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-DReP/MK-DReP) and (b) surface elevation (SS-DReSE/MK-DReSE) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Figure 3. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-DReP/MK-DReP) and (b) surface elevation (SS-DReSE/MK-DReSE) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Sustainability 17 07801 g003
Sustainability 17 07801 g004
Figure 4. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-WReP/MK-WReP) and (b) surface elevation (SS-WReSE/MK-WReSE) obtained in the wet season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Figure 4. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-WReP/MK-WReP) and (b) surface elevation (SS-WReSE/MK-WReSE) obtained in the wet season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Sustainability 17 07801 g004
Sustainability 17 07801 g005
Figure 5. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-DRiP/MK-DRiP), (b) gauge height (SS-DRiGH/MK-DRiGH), and (c) discharge (SS-DRiD/MK-DRiD) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Figure 5. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-DRiP/MK-DRiP), (b) gauge height (SS-DRiGH/MK-DRiGH), and (c) discharge (SS-DRiD/MK-DRiD) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Sustainability 17 07801 g005
Sustainability 17 07801 g006
Figure 6. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-WRiP/MK-WRiP), (b) gauge height (SS-WRiGH/MK-WRiGH), and (c) discharge (SS-WRiD/MK-WRiD) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Figure 6. Map showcasing results for (a) precipitation (SS-WRiP/MK-WRiP), (b) gauge height (SS-WRiGH/MK-WRiGH), and (c) discharge (SS-WRiD/MK-WRiD) obtained in the dry season. SS magnitude is presented by varying square size and MK by color.
Sustainability 17 07801 g006
Table 1. Regional average precipitation and surface elevation during the dry season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from reservoir stations in each region.
Table 1. Regional average precipitation and surface elevation during the dry season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from reservoir stations in each region.
RegionAvg SS-DReP (mm/yr)Avg SS-DReSE (m/yr)
Central North−2.290.09
East−1.520.13
South−5.081.29
West−5.330.012
Table 2. Regional average precipitation and surface elevation during the wet season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from reservoir stations in each region.
Table 2. Regional average precipitation and surface elevation during the wet season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from reservoir stations in each region.
RegionAvg SS-WReP (mm/yr)Avg SS-WReSE (m/yr)
Central North−3.050.11
East−13.460.113
South−8.891.19
West−10.160.05
Table 3. Regional average precipitation, gauge height, and discharge during the dry season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from river stations in each region.
Table 3. Regional average precipitation, gauge height, and discharge during the dry season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from river stations in each region.
RegionAvg SS-DRiP (mm/yr)Avg SS-DRiGH (m/yr)Avg SS-DRiD (cms/yr)
Central North−0.127−0.004−0.022
East−1.17−0.009−0.012
South−4.6−0.004−0.002
West−4.090.0060.86
Table 4. Regional average precipitation, gauge height, and discharge during the wet season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from river stations in each region.
Table 4. Regional average precipitation, gauge height, and discharge during the wet season, based on Sen’s slope magnitude averages from river stations in each region.
RegionAvg SS-WRiP (mm/yr)Avg SS-WRiGH (m/yr)Avg SS-WRiD (cms/yr)
Central North−0.43−0.000091440.224
East−1.3−0.0030.014
South−7.04−0.0030.008
West−8.360.0080.18
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Trossi-Torres, G.; Muñoz-Barreto, J.; Feliciano-Cruz, L.I.; Lakhankar, T. Impacts of Precipitation Trends on Reservoirs and Rivers in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 2022. Sustainability 2025, 17, 7801. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177801

AMA Style

Trossi-Torres G, Muñoz-Barreto J, Feliciano-Cruz LI, Lakhankar T. Impacts of Precipitation Trends on Reservoirs and Rivers in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 2022. Sustainability. 2025; 17(17):7801. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177801

Chicago/Turabian Style

Trossi-Torres, Gerardo, Jonathan Muñoz-Barreto, Luisa I. Feliciano-Cruz, and Tarendra Lakhankar. 2025. "Impacts of Precipitation Trends on Reservoirs and Rivers in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 2022" Sustainability 17, no. 17: 7801. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177801

APA Style

Trossi-Torres, G., Muñoz-Barreto, J., Feliciano-Cruz, L. I., & Lakhankar, T. (2025). Impacts of Precipitation Trends on Reservoirs and Rivers in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 2022. Sustainability, 17(17), 7801. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177801

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop