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It has been seven weeks since Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, and life on the island is still full of uncertainty: How many people have died? When will the power come back? What is the impact of the storm on the economy?

In this series, Quartz is studying issues that Puerto Ricans are exploring. This is the third part about the return of water services.

For the first time since Hurricane Maria hit the island seven weeks ago, on November 8, Puerto Ricans' use of tap water exceeded 85%. However, in some areas, most people still do not have tap water. For those who have tap water, it is not clear whether it is safe to drink.

The Utuado Mountains are such a place-ironically, there are two main reservoirs. Only about one-third of its approximately 30,000 residents have tap water, and many people still only drink bottled water or use filters or chlorine tablets to disinfect water in taps. "I don't recommend drinking tap water at all," said local resident Daniel González. He said that the tap water returned to his home a week ago, but it was still brown.

In the days after Maria, health experts warned of water-borne diseases, and the island’s own health officials instructed Puerto Ricans (link in Spanish) to drink bottled water or boil it. When I traveled to the island at the end of October, the locals repeatedly told me to use bottled water even when brushing my teeth.

Puerto Rico's water company AAA stated that the tap water is safe to drink about 72 hours after the service is restored, once any debris that has accumulated in the main pipe is washed away. Spokesperson Karim del Valle said that the brown color is caused by non-hazardous minerals. "We test the water every day, and we use it ourselves in [AAA]," she said. According to del Valle, of AAA's 114 water treatment plants, all but 18 are in operation.

However, Utuado's factory is not one of them. An official of the Municipal Emergency Office, Angel Medina, said it was overturned by the storm, which also destroyed equipment for pumping water from one of the lakes. He added that it may take weeks or months to bring them back online.

Let’s take a look at how Utuado and some other people on the island get water after Maria.

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