The multi-decade effort to transform el Caño Martín Peña, a polluted water channel in San Juan, Puerto Rico surrounded by densely-populated informal settlements, stands as an exceptionally multi-faceted achievement in pursuit of equitable resilience. Community organizations, residents, and the government all agreed that this centrally-located channel needed to be dredged to reduce flooding and improve drainage, but what is remarkable about this story is the extent to which local community organizations gained legal power and forged vital partnerships with government agencies to advance their cause. Starting in 2002, this entailed creation of a collective community organization linking eight neighborhoods, an innovative community land trust (CLT), and a government corporation known as ENLACE. Together, these groups have ensured that improving environmental conditions and reducing flood risk would not also entail washing away the thousands of low-income residents who needed to be relocated from danger. The ongoing saga of el Caño Martín Peña reveals the complexity of constructing more equitable forms of community governance, coupled with enhanced environmental protection, improved security, and more modest progress in improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged residents. This account is based on visits in San Juan, interviews with a range of stakeholders, observers, and residents, and review of both academic and popular accounts.