How to report a water leak or an outage in Puerto Rico

Drinking water and sewer service in Puerto Rico are provided by the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA). When there is a leak in the street, when a sector loses water, or when there is a sanitary overflow, the route AAA publishes for reporting it is its Customer Service Call Center. AAA describes it as a service with representatives available daily on a wide schedule, including holidays, every day of the year, and presents it as the way to avoid the line at a commercial office.

Anyone can report a fault: you do not need to be the account holder to report a leak on a public street or a sanitary overflow. For account matters — checking a balance, requesting reconnection, following up on a complaint — you will need your account details. AAA also maintains commercial offices, an online portal, payment kiosks and a page for reporting irregularities, depending on what you need.

• Calling within the Call Center’s hours: AAA states its representatives are available from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., including holidays, every day of the year.Verified against the official source
• Dialing the right number: AAA publishes 787 plus your area code plus 2482, and (787) 620-2482 as Customer Service. For hearing-impaired callers, 787-679-7322.Verified against the official source
• If your matter concerns your account rather than a fault, having your account details at hand: AAA states that through the same route you can check your balance, follow up on a complaint and request service reconnection.Verified against the official source

• The exact address or location references for where the fault is, so AAA can locate it.
• If the matter concerns your account, your AAA account number, which appears on your bill.
• If you are paying on the same call, a checking account, a savings account or a credit card. AAA states a maximum of $10,000 per transaction.

1. 1

   Step 1: Call the Call Center

   AAA publishes the number as 787, your area code, then 2482 — which spells AGUA on the keypad — and separately (787) 620-2482 as Customer Service. If you are hearing-impaired, the number is 787-679-7322. The hours are wide: 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., every day of the year, holidays included.

2. 2

   Step 2: Say what kind of complaint it is

   AAA names four examples of what gets reported this way: a leak, a sector without water, a sanitary overflow, or an investigation. Placing your case in one of those categories from the start makes the call shorter, and in the case of a sanitary overflow it helps get the urgency it deserves.

3. 3

   Step 3: Use the call for everything else

   AAA states that through the same Call Center you can check your account balance, request new service, follow up on a complaint and request service reconnection. If you are calling anyway, handling everything on one call saves you queuing again.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you need to pay, choose the right option

   AAA publishes two phone routes: the automated system, option one, available 24 hours; and a customer service representative, option five, available 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. seven days a week. You can pay by checking account, savings account or credit card, up to a maximum of $10,000 per transaction, and AAA states the payment is confirmed instantly. If a reconnection was needed, you can request the order on that same call.

5. 5

   Step 5: Follow up using your service order status

   AAA maintains a portal, Mi Acueductos, where you check the status of a service order, plus a page to see commercial offices in real time. If your complaint is not moving, that lookup and a second call to the Call Center are the routes the agency publishes.

Through AAA’s Customer Service Call Center, by calling 787 plus your area code plus 2482, or (787) 620-2482; for hearing-impaired callers, 787-679-7322. Also in person at a commercial office: AAA publishes a directory and a real-time view of its offices. AAA’s physical address is 604 Avenida Barbosa, Edificio Sergio Cuevas Bustamante, Hato Rey, San Juan.

• Waiting for office hours to report, when the Call Center is open 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day of the year, holidays included.
• Reporting the same fault several times instead of checking the order status in Mi Acueductos.
• Calling without the exact address or location references, which is what AAA needs to locate the fault.
• Paying by phone and not requesting the reconnection order on the same call, when AAA states it can be requested right there.
• Using fault reporting for an irregularity, when AAA has a separate page for that.
• Assuming AAA and LUMA work the same way: they are different operators, with different processes and different numbers.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA)

  AAA

  www.acueductos.pr.gov

• AAA — homepage, commercial offices and service order status

  AAA

  www.acueductos.pr.gov