Puerto Rico Implements Rotating 48-Hour Water Rationing in San Juan and Nearby Cities
Around 180,000 customers in San Juan and several neighboring municipalities will face alternating 48-hour water cutoffs as a severe drought persists, with authorities distributing bottled water to vulnerable groups.
Puerto Rico will begin rotating water rationing on Friday, cutting off supply for up to 48 hours for more than 180,000 customers in San Juan and the municipalities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza. The measure follows a record-dry July and an ongoing severe drought that affects roughly a quarter of the island, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Governor Jenniffer González said the situation is beyond the government's control and warned that conditions could worsen. Meteorologist María Novoa García of the National Weather Service noted that El Niño is strengthening and that rainfall over the next two to three weeks is expected to be at least 50 percent below normal.
Luis González Delgado, president of the Puerto Rico Water and Sewer Authority, said large trucks will deliver potable water, prioritising hospitals and households with elderly residents. Tania Conde Sterling, head of the island’s Association of Health Services Administrators, assured that hospitals have established protocols and manuals to manage the shortage.
The governor did not specify the duration of the rationing. Lawmakers and local officials have previously criticized the water authority for chronic infrastructure problems and underinvestment, and Representative Domingo J. Torres García said he will seek legal action if satisfactory explanations are not provided.
The current rationing follows similar emergency measures enacted in 2015 and 2020, when about 400,000 customers received water only every third day.