{"id":2066,"date":"2026-08-05T16:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asianewscast.com\/?p=2066"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:30:15","slug":"puerto-rican-cities-hit-with-water-rationing-measures-during-record-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asianewscast.com\/?p=2066","title":{"rendered":"Puerto Rican cities hit with water rationing measures during record drought"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__divider\">\n<div class=\"listen-to-article\"><button class=\"listen-to-article__button\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><title>Listen<\/title>Listen (3 mins)<\/button><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share__update-reading-list-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"update-reading-list\">\n<p class=\"update-reading-list__button-text\">Save<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div 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href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Puerto%20Rican%20cities%20hit%20with%20water%20rationing%20measures%20during%20record%20drought&amp;source=sharethiscom&amp;related=sharethis&amp;via=AJEnglish&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fhr5dpa\"><title>x<\/title><\/a><a class=\"rich-share__social-link row u-hidden--desktop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-label=\"Share on Whatsapp\" href=\"\/\/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fhr5dpa\"><title>whatsapp-stroke<\/title><\/a><a class=\"rich-share__social-link row copylink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-label=\"Copy link\" href=\"https:\/\/aje.news\/hr5dpa\"><title>copylink<\/title><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"google-preferred-source\"><button class=\"google-preferred-source__button\" aria-label=\"Add Al Jazeera on Google\" data-testid=\"google-preferred-source-button\"><title>google<\/title><span class=\"google-preferred-source__text\">Add Al Jazeera on Google<\/span><\/button><button aria-label=\"See more of Al Jazeera\u2019s trusted journalism by adding us as a preferred source on Google.\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><title>info<\/title><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-featured__media\">\n<figure class=\"article-featured-image\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26217438343856-1785939381.jpg?resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Bryan P\u00e9rez hauls a five-gallon water jug to his apartment in the Villa Kennedy public housing complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 10, 2026\"><\/div><figcaption>Bryan Perez hauls a 20-litre (five-gallon) water jug to his apartment in the Villa Kennedy public housing complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 10, 2026 [Danica Coto\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-info m--t-20 m--desktop-b-30 m--b-mobile-20\">\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\"><a class=\"avatar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" href=\"\/author\/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-content\">\n<div class=\"contributors-list contributors-list--byline\"><span class=\"contributors-list__by-prefix\">By <\/span><a href=\"\/author\/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458\">Al Jazeera Staff<\/a> and <!-- -->AP<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<div class=\"date-simple\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 5 Aug 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">5 Aug 2026<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p>Puerto Rico has announced it will implement water rationing measures in San Juan and other major cities as a drought grips the United States territory with no relief in sight.<\/p>\n<p>More than 180,000 Puerto Ricans will be without water for 48 hours at a time on a rotating basis starting Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"more-on__list\">\n<li class=\"more-on__article\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 1 of 3<\/span><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"\/news\/2026\/7\/31\/powerful-el-nino-to-intensify-heat-on-a-planet-already-on-fire-un\">Powerful El Nino to intensify heat on \u2018a planet already on fire\u2019: UN<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"more-on__article\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 2 of 3<\/span><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"\/news\/2024\/12\/31\/puerto-rico-suffers-nearly-island-wide-power-outage-on-new-years-eve\">Puerto Rico suffers nearly island-wide power outage on New Year\u2019s Eve<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"more-on__article\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 3 of 3<\/span><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"\/news\/2026\/1\/16\/trump-to-pardon-former-puerto-rico-governor-wanda-vazquez-after-plea-deal\">Trump to pardon former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez after plea deal<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>More than 180,000 Puerto Ricans will be without water for 48 hours at a time on a rotating basis starting Friday, as <a href=\"\/where\/puerto-rico\/\">Puerto Rico<\/a> scrambles to find a solution to the deepening crisis amid continuing extreme heat warnings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis situation is out of our hands,\u201d Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez said late Tuesday as she blamed weather conditions. \u201cNothing prevents this from worsening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said she did not know how long the rationing measures will remain in place. Meteorologists have warned dry conditions will likely persist until September.<\/p>\n<p>July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the second-hottest July for the capital. Almost 25 percent of Puerto Rico is experiencing a severe drought and another 36 percent is under a moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.<\/p>\n<p>Experts have predicted a milder 2026 hurricane season, with dry conditions persisting until at least September, said Maria Novoa Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan.<\/p>\n<p>Rainfall in the next two to three weeks will be at least 50 percent below average, she added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are seeing that El Nino continues to get stronger,\u201d she said, referencing a natural warming cycle.<\/p>\n<p>The drought is worsening, but thousands of Puerto Ricans had already been experiencing water shortages up to a year before for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\"><span class=\"ads__title\"> Advertisement <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Among them is 61-year-old community leader Marcia Soler Paris. She said Wednesday that the rationing measures don\u2019t really mean much because her neighbourhood had already been experiencing severe water shortages for months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s chaos,\u201d she said, questioning how Puerto Ricans are supposed to prepare for rationing when they don\u2019t have water now. \u201cIt\u2019s truly pitiful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She worries most about bedridden and older people who are unable to haul heavy water buckets to their homes and apartments.<\/p>\n<p>Luis Gonzalez Delgado, president of Puerto Rico\u2019s water and sewer system, said large trucks would distribute potable water, with priority given to hospitals and residences for older people.<\/p>\n<p>The rationing will extend to certain neighbourhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of water, unrelated to the drought, prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to sue the island\u2019s Water and Sewer Authority in late May, with the governor acknowledging the agency\u2019s infrastructure has lacked investment and maintenance for decades.<\/p>\n<p>Puerto Rico\u00a0previously implemented\u00a0rationing measures in 2020 and in 2015, when some 400,000 utility customers received water only every third day.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"\/news\/2026\/7\/31\/powerful-el-nino-to-intensify-heat-on-a-planet-already-on-fire-un\">United Nations weather agency\u2019s update<\/a>, released in late July, said that the periodic climate phenomenon threatens to heighten the risk of heatwaves, drought and flooding around the globe. The report comes as countries in <a href=\"\/features\/2026\/7\/31\/tunisian-wildfires-expose-failing-infrastructure-community-vulnerabilities\">Africa<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"\/news\/2026\/7\/27\/wildfires-in-southwest-europe-what-we-know-so-far\">Europe<\/a> are battling massive wildfires, while the monsoon season has caused\u00a0<a href=\"\/news\/2026\/7\/27\/death-toll-from-pakistan-monsoon-rains-floods-tops-100\">havoc across South Asia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ListenListen (3 mins) Save Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share facebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylink googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Bryan Perez hauls a 20-litre (five-gallon) water jug to his apartment in the Villa Kennedy public housing complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 10, 2026 [Danica Coto\/AP] By Al Jazeera Staff and AP Published [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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