More than 180,000 households in Puerto Rico are facing rotating 48-hour water supply shut-offs after the island's governor declared a state of emergency in response to severe drought conditions and falling water reservoir levels.
Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon declared the emergency on July 31. Authorities began implementing the shut-offs on Friday in parts of the capital San Juan and in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas, and Loiza, according to a report by ABC News.
July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the fourth hottest on record for the capital. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that as of August 4, almost 25% of Puerto Rico was experiencing a severe drought and another 36% was under a moderate drought.
At a Sunday press conference, Gonzalez-Colon said an interagency support plan for municipalities had been activated. "Mayors have a direct liaison inside the government of Puerto Rico," she said. "Each head of agency has the responsibility to maintain communication with that mayor, to understand the needs that arise, to channel urgent situations, to support the distribution of water trucks, and to facilitate coordination with the agencies that need to intervene."
The island's Public Housing Administration has begun installing community cisterns in public housing complexes. Portable water is also being distributed directly to residents with support from the Fire Department.
The governor said the federal government is also involved. "We are combining a climate committee, actually a drought committee, with all the scientific people. The federal government is helping us out as well," she said Saturday.
Gonzalez-Colon noted extreme heat alongside the water shortage. "In the case of Puerto Rico, a few weeks ago was the hottest day in San Juan in 100 years," she said Saturday. She also told CNN the island was grappling with almost 1,000 fires.
The governor did not hold back in describing the severity of the situation. "This situation is out of our hands," she said last week. "Nothing prevents this from worsening."
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo Jose Hernandez last week urged Gonzalez-Colon to seek a federal emergency declaration from President Trump. "Faced with the water crisis, Puerto Rico needs an immediate response," Hernandez wrote in a post to X.
