Puerto Rico Orders 48-Hour Water Rationing For 180,000 Accounts
Starting Friday morning, August 7, 2026, Puerto Rico's water utility ordered rotating 48-hour shutoffs for more than 180,000 customer accounts in San Juan and nearby municipalities to conserve supplies during a severe drought.[1]
Officials said individual outages will last 48 hours on a rotating schedule but could be extended to 72 hours if conditions worsen, and they did not give a firm end date for the rationing.[1]
July 2026 was the driest July on record in San Juan since at least 1899, with just 0.54 inches of rain. Almost 61% of the island is facing at least moderate drought, and some San Juan neighborhoods have already recorded as many as 118 days of repeated outages this year.
Hospitals and elder-care facilities will receive priority tanker deliveries, and officials noted more than $7 billion in federal grants and low-interest loans have been committed for water infrastructure projects that remain unfinished.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- Starting Friday morning, August 7, 2026, more than 180,000 water customer accounts in San Juan and nearby municipalities will lose service for 48 hours at a time on a rotating schedule.
- July 2026 was the driest July on record in San Juan since at least 1899, with only 0.54 inches of rain, and almost 61% of Puerto Rico is experiencing at least moderate drought.
- Officials have not specified when the rationing will end and warn individual shutoff periods could be expanded from 48 to 72 hours if conditions worsen.
- Hospitals and elder-care facilities will receive priority tanker deliveries, while some San Juan neighborhoods have already logged 118 days of repeated outages this year.
- More than $7 billion in federal grants and low-interest loans have been committed to Puerto Rico water infrastructure, with many projects still pending as the crisis intensifies.
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