In the ocean‑front town of Loíza on Puerto Rico’s northeast coast, 96‑year‑old Milagros Pica Quiñones lives among rows of empty jugs, paint buckets and bleach containers. She drags the containers to the faucet each night, hoping to catch the “thinnest thread of water” before the supply is shut off at 10 p.m. and not restored until dawn.
Her situation mirrors that of hundreds of thousands of island residents who now rely on buckets, cistern trucks and bottled water for basic needs. The lack of reliable water affects the most vulnerable – seniors, the sick and low‑income families – who must forgo laundry, cleaning and even toilet flushing while their water bills continue to accrue.
Rising drought and crumbling infrastructure
Puerto Rico’s water emergency intensified over the summer as a historic drought collided with an aging water system. The island’s main 72‑inch “Superaqueduct” pipeline, which carries potable water to the San Juan metro area, suffered multiple ruptures beginning in June. Since then, the Puerto Rico National Guard and other agencies have been distributing water from trucks, but the effort has not kept pace with demand.
Governor Jenniffer González‑Colón declared a state of emergency on July 31. She has warned that the island may request a national emergency declaration to unlock additional federal funding, after exhausting local resources. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already approved a drought disaster declaration, allowing farmers in 26 municipalities to apply for emergency loans.
Historical context and ongoing losses
Experts say the crisis is more than a simple drought. “When you have a drought colliding with an aging infrastructure, that’s more than a drought. That’s a humanitarian crisis,” said Northeastern University chemistry professor Eugene Smotkin, who lives in Old San Juan.
According to a 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers report, nearly 60 % of water treated by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority was lost due to inaccurate meters, unauthorized consumption and leaky mains. The Superaqueduct, built after a 1994 drought, was intended to end shortages, yet the system remains vulnerable.
Community impact and grassroots tracking
Local nonprofit director Hilda Rodríguez has been logging water‑free days on her phone since 2018. Her record shows more than 200 days without water this year, up from 175 days in 2025 and 142 days in 2024. A neighborhood group called “Exigimos Agua” (We Demand Water) has also tracked days without water or electricity, reporting over 140 water‑free days so far.
Residents describe daily life as a series of improvisations: bucket baths, dry shampoo, cooking with bottled water and using paper plates to avoid washing dishes. Many have installed personal cisterns, but the cost has risen dramatically; a 600‑gallon cistern that cost about $1,000 in 1995 would cost more than twice that today.
Looking ahead
Hydrologist Emanuel Rodriguez of the National Weather Service warned that rainfall deficits could persist through January, keeping the island in moderate to extreme drought conditions and affecting more than three million people, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The governor’s office has not responded to further comment, but officials acknowledge the need for both local repairs and potential federal assistance to restore reliable water service to Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million U.S. citizens.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
