The water crisis in Puerto Rico continues — as residents wake up to day 3 of the recent water service interruptions imposed as a severe drought rages on. Last week, leaders of the island implemented water rationing measures in San Juan and other major cities as a drought grips the island with no relief in sight. More than 180,000 customers were without water for 48 consecutive hours that started Friday, as part of an alternating schedule, while the U.S. territory tries to find a solution to the worsening crisis amid ongoing extreme heat warnings. Although it did rain a bit Monday morning on the North side, it was not enough to alleviate the drought conditions. The Carraízo Dam Reservoir, which serves roughly half a million residents in the greater San Juan area, reached critical water levels during the ongoing drought, as NBC New York and Telemundo 47 noticed. The rationing program divides seven municipalities into two sections that will alternate water service every 48 hours. “This situation… is not in our hands,” Governor Jenniffer González said late Tuesday, attributing the problem to weather conditions. “Nothing prevents… this from getting worse.” July was the driest month on record in San Juan in more than 120 years and the second hottest for the capital. Nearly 25% of Puerto Rico is experiencing severe drought and another 36% is under moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Experts have predicted a more moderate hurricane season for 2026, with dry conditions persisting until at least September, said Maria Novoa Garcia, 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 strengthen,” she said, referring to the natural warming weather phenomenon. In addition to affecting various parts of San Juan, rationing will extend to certain neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canóvanas, and Loíza. The governor indicated that she does not know how long the rationing measures will remain in effect. Military water tanks were seen in Carolina on Monday morning distributing water to residents of buildings in the area. Luis González Delgado, president of Puerto Rico’s water and sewer system, indicated that large trucks will distribute drinking water, prioritizing hospitals and senior living facilities. Tania Conde Sterling, president of the Puerto Rico Association of Health Services Administrators, called for calm on Wednesday, noting that hospitals and other health centers are prepared for rationing. “We don’t improvise in hospitals,” she said, “we have manuals of rules and procedures and protocols for all types of scenarios.” The drought is worsening, but thousands of Puerto Ricans were already experiencing water shortages, some for as long as a year, for unknown reasons. Among them is community leader Marcia Soler París, 61. She stated on Wednesday that the rationing measures don’t really mean much because her neighborhood has been suffering from a severe water shortage for months. “It’s chaos,” she said, questioning how Puerto Ricans are supposed to prepare for rationing when they now have no water. “It’s truly shameful.” He is especially concerned about bedridden people and the elderly who cannot carry heavy buckets of water to their homes and apartments. The lack of water unrelated to the drought led San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to sue the island’s Aqueduct and Sewer Authority in late May, and the governor acknowledged that the agency’s infrastructure has suffered from a lack of investment and maintenance for decades. Puerto Rican Representative Domingo J. Torres García warned on Wednesday that he will go to court if he does not receive an answer from the water and sewer authority regarding the cause of the chronic water problems. “The people have the right to know what is happening, what the plans are, and what concrete actions are being taken to address this crisis,” he stated. Puerto Rico previously implemented rationing measures in 2020 and 2015, when some 400,000 utility customers received water only every three days. There is also concern because of the underinvestment in the island’s aging water service infrastructure and lack of maintenance. ...read more read less