A sweeping water rationing program took effect in Puerto Rico on Friday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in the capital and surrounding municipalities without running water. The measure impacts more than 180,000 customer accounts, including both homes and businesses, as the island struggles with a severe drought compounded by persistent infrastructure challenges.
Under the new system, customers are divided into two distinct groups, with water service alternating for at least 48 hours at a time. Government officials have not provided a timeline for when these restrictions might be lifted and have cautioned that outages could eventually be extended to 72-hour intervals. Residents across affected areas were observed preparing for the shortages by filling buckets and jugs with water.
The current crisis follows a record-breaking summer in San Juan, where July was documented as the driest month in over 120 years and the second hottest on record. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, approximately 36% of the island is currently experiencing severe drought conditions, with an additional 32% under moderate drought. Ada Monzon, chief meteorologist at WAPA-TV, noted that multiple tropical systems and winter precipitation will be required to resolve the ongoing crisis.
The drought has placed immense strain on a water system already weakened by decades of deferred maintenance and limited investment. The local water authority reports that roughly 65% of its water production is either lost through leaks in aging pipes or goes unbilled. While Governor Jenniffer González has acknowledged the long-standing neglect, she attributed the current severity of the situation to the weather.
Many communities in San Juan had already endured at least 118 days of water outages in 2026 prior to the start of these formal rationing measures, with residents frequently reporting intermittent service and low water pressure. For many, the situation is dire; low-income residents are forced to spend money on bottled water, while the elderly have become dependent on family and neighbors for assistance. This is not the first time the island has faced such measures; similar rationing was implemented in 2015 and 2020, during which some 400,000 customers received water only every third day.
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