Puerto Rican cities hit with water rationing measures as record dry conditions persist

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico will implement water rationing measures in San Juan and other major cities as a drought grips the US territory with no relief in sight.

More than 180,000 customers will be without water for 48 hours at a time starting Friday as part of an alternating schedule while Puerto Rico scrambles to find a solution to the deepening crisis as extreme heat warnings persist.

“This situation is out of our hands,” Governor Jenniffer González said late Tuesday as she blamed weather conditions.

“Nothing prevents this from worsening.”

July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the second hottest for the capital.

Almost 25% of Puerto Rico is experiencing a severe drought and another 36% is under a moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

Experts have predicted a milder 2026 hurricane season, with dry conditions persisting until at least September, said María Novoa García, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan.

Rainfall in the next two to three weeks will be at least 50% below average, she added.

“We are seeing that El Niño continues to get stronger,” she said, referencing a natural warming cycle.

In addition to affecting parts of San Juan, the rationing will extend to certain neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.

The governor said she doesn’t know how long the rationing measures will remain in place.

Luis González Delgado, president of Puerto Rico’s water and sewer system, said large trucks would distribute potable water, with priority given to hospitals and residences for older people.

Tania Conde Sterling, president of Puerto Rico’s Association of Health Services Administrators, called for calm on Wednesday, saying that hospitals and other health centers are prepared for the rationing.

“We do not improvise at hospitals,” she said. “We have manuals of rules and procedures, as well as protocols for every type of scenario.”

The drought is worsening, but thousands of Puerto Ricans were already experiencing water shortages up to a year before for unknown reasons.

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