Puerto Rico is rationing water, but many residents stopped trusting the tap long before the drought

Drought and a ruptured pipeline have forced Puerto Rico into revolving water shut-offs. For many people, the disruption started years earlier, as did loss of faith in the utility.

By: Ivis García, Texas A&M University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 20, 2026

Words: 1,381

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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By Ivis García, Texas A&M University

Imagine turning on your kitchen faucet and nothing comes out. Not for an hour, but for two full days. Then the water returns, only to stop again two days later.

That is what more than 180,000 customers in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and six nearby municipalities have been dealing with since Aug. 7, 2026, and officials expect 48-hour rotating outages to continue at least through August.

The …

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