Puerto Rico water authority AAA faces drought outages and court case

More than 44,000 customers in the San Juan, Carolina and Canóvanas municipalities have been without tap water since early Sunday because the Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA) reduced operations at the Carraízo reservoir amid a severe drought. The water authority deployed tankers to the affected neighborhoods while Governor Jenniffer González Colón declared a state of emergency on 31 August and requested $127 million in federal funds for water‑infrastructure projects.

The municipality of San Juan has scheduled a court hearing for 7 August to present evidence that AAA failed to meet its obligations, a case that could result in fines and calls for leadership changes at the agency. Municipal representative Eddie Charbonier said the city has “robust and compelling” evidence and emphasized the seriousness of a water system that cannot supply the population.