Water rationing began on August 7 in the San Juan area of Puerto Rico, affecting the most wealthy neighborhoods, the poorest neighborhoods, the business district, and tourist destinations. The once privatized, but now government-run Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) is shutting off water for 48-hour periods rotating through neighborhoods, although even that system is having problems.
Five months of drought and the driest July in over 100 years have only made the water crisis more acute. An emergency declaration has mobilized the National Guard which has been deployed to distribute gallon containers of water. The island’s government has contracts with private water providers which send trucks to deliver water to the sick and handicapped. For over one year the notoriously fragile water system has seen interruptions at an increasing pace in this metro area of nearly 1 million residents. Even when the water is flowing the pressure is often so low that customers are forced to chose between using the trickle for a shower, toilet flushing, or household chores.
