Puerto Rico Rations Water for 180,000 Households as Leaks Waste 60% of Supply
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Aug 15
Puerto Rico Rations Water for 180,000 Households as Leaks Waste 60% of Supply
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Aug 15
Summary
Two-day shutoffs ordered by Governor Jenniffer González have left 180,000 households in Puerto Rico’s northeast with limited water access, after July became the island’s driest month on record.
Aging infrastructure is deepening the emergency: the aqueduct authority loses about 60% of drinking water through leaks, and ruptures in the 72-inch Superaqueduct have worsened shortages that have already lasted more than 100 days for some families.
Experts say rainwater harvesting could quickly ease non-drinking water demand, with architect Fernando Abruña estimating 1 million household systems could collect 30 billion gallons a year against roughly 72 billion gallons of annual residential use.
Puerto Rico has no broad incentives or installation mandate for homes, unlike the US Virgin Islands, where about 90% of houses have cisterns; a June feasibility-study resolution and a 2024 law for government buildings have seen little follow-through.
The crisis underscores a wider warning for Puerto Rico: climate change is expected to lengthen dry seasons and intensify rainfall swings, making decentralized water systems a more urgent backup to the failing centralized grid.