[REVISION HISTORY]

Water supply interruptions across Mexico and Puerto Rico

Updated 11 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-24 03:17 UTC → 2026-08-31 22:54 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Since early July 2026, short-term water-service interruptions have affected municipalities across Mexico and neighboring regions, including Navojoa, Puerto Aventuras, Nezahualcóyotl, Bogotá, and Santiago. In Puerto Rico, the situation has escalated into a severe crisis. On 5 August, Governor Jenniffer González launched a rotating 48-hour rationing plan affecting approximately 180,000 customers across San Juan and six surrounding municipalities. The rationing was triggered by the island’s driest July in over 120 years and the second-hottest on record, with 68% of the territory under drought conditions. The decision followed an evaluation of the depleted Carraízo reservoir. The National Weather Service reports that rainfall has been 24 inches below average over the last three months. The crisis is compounded by long-standing infrastructure failure; the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) reports that roughly 65% of produced water is lost or unbilled due to leaks and deteriorating pipes. Following the implementation of the plan, the Authority’s president, Héctor del Río, resigned, stating the rationing was adopted without board consultation. By mid-August, the drought intensified. Experts noted that while a tropical wave might increase humidity, the island remains under heat advisories and fire risks. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that extreme drought (D3) conditions doubled in one week, covering 33.31% of the territory. In response to the impact on crops like coffee, avocado, and coconut, Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández requested a federal agricultural emergency declaration from the USDA for 29 municipalities to provide financing for harvest losses. Additionally, U.S. Congressional leaders have called for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the causes of the shortage and the resilience of the territory's water and wastewater systems. By late August, a state of emergency was declared as the number of people facing water rationing grew to over 500,000 across several municipalities.

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