Hundreds of thousands of Americans in Puerto Rico are going without running water as the island contends with a deepening water crisis. Authorities have begun rationing supplies for more than 180,000 people, a drastic measure that has left large numbers of households facing stretches of time with nothing coming out of their taps.
The rationing has been driven by an extraordinary lack of rain. It comes after San Juan recorded its driest month in over a century, an unusual milestone that has left reservoirs and the wider water system unable to keep up with demand. The capital and surrounding areas have borne the brunt of the shortage as the dry spell has worn on.
Behind the shortage is a severe drought that has settled over the island. The prolonged dry conditions have depleted the supplies that Puerto Rico depends on, turning what might normally be a seasonal dip into a full-blown emergency that officials have had to manage by restricting access to water itself.
For residents, the rationing translates into a punishing rhythm of scarcity. Under the schedule, people will have access to water for 48 hours and then have to go without it for the next 48, an alternating cycle that forces households to store what they can and plan their daily lives around when the taps will run.
How long the population will have to live under these conditions remains unclear. The governor has not said how long the rationing will need to continue, leaving families uncertain about when normal service might return as they adjust to going days at a time without a dependable water supply.
In the meantime, officials are trying to protect the most vulnerable. They are deploying portable water supplies to hospitals and seniors as their first priority, focusing the limited resources on the places and people least able to cope with an interruption, even as the broader crisis stretches across the island.