The rationing plan for customers supplied by the Carraízo Reservoir and the Sergio Cuevas Filtration Plant began this Friday at 6:00 a.m., while the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) stated that, in turn, it had begun the process of restoring service to areas of Cupey that have been without water since August 1.

The Executive President of the AAA, Luis González Delgado , stated this morning that the main pumps of the Cupey Water System, located at the Sergio Cuevas plant, have begun operating, but he did not specify at what time customers will begin receiving water in their homes.

According to the president, the recovery will be gradual because the system remained “completely empty for several days” and it will be necessary to refill the pipes, pumping stations, and tanks that make up the network until reaching its final point, at the tank located in the Los Morteros sector.

“The process began at 6:00 a.m., and when I say the process begins, I mean that they turn on the pumps and start pumping out the water. And we always make it clear that this isn’t an automatic process,” said González Delgado.

When asked at what specific time residents could expect water to come out of their taps, the official replied that it would depend on how the system’s restoration progresses.

“The recovery process will vary,” he said.

González Delgado stated that, in addition to having to replenish a network that had been dry for days, the speed of recovery will depend on the consumption of the customers themselves. The AAA anticipates high demand due to the prolonged period of time that some communities have been without service.

“Since these people were without water for so many days, we expect water consumption to be high in the affected areas. So, as we begin this scheduled water shut-off plan, our focus is on filling the system as quickly as possible,” he said.

Although he did not provide a specific time, González Delgado stated that the public utility expects Cupey subscribers to have their service restored as the process progresses throughout Friday.

When asked whether residents could trust that service would indeed be restored, he stated that “they can trust that since early this morning we have been working to ensure they have water service, as outlined in the scheduled interruption plan” .

Cupey’s recovery is taking place at the same time that the AAA’s rationing plan is formally beginning in response to the continued decline in the Carraízo reservoir’s water level.

The first shift began at 6:00 a.m. with a service outage for customers in Zone 2. The outage will affect communities in San Juan, Carolina, Loíza, Trujillo Alto, Canóvanas, Gurabo, and Juncos.

It is estimated that between 140,000 and 180,000 AAA customers would be affected by the plan.

To manage the service interruptions, the public utility divided customers into two zones, which will alternate service suspensions in 48-hour periods. Once Zone 2’s first period without water ends, the interruption is scheduled to begin for customers in Zone 1.

The AAA has warned that service will not necessarily be restored immediately once each outage period ends, particularly in communities located in high-altitude areas or at the far ends of the distribution system

González Delgado acknowledged that the current drought conditions forced the public agency to implement a plan that had not originally been envisaged.

“It certainly wasn’t part of the Authority’s operational plan to have to implement a schedule of planned outages. But what we’ve been discussing over the past few months—in terms of the drought in Puerto Rico—has definitely forced us to make this decision,” he said.

The official stated that over the past week, the AAA confirmed that the volume of raw water available to supply the Sergio Cuevas plant is not sufficient to keep the entire system full.

According to González Delgado, the system normally produces more than 80 million gallons of water per day, but is currently facing a shortfall of more than 10 million gallons.

“We don’t have enough water to fill the entire system,” he said.

At 5:00 a.m. this Friday, the water level at the Carraízo Reservoir stood at 37.64 meters, a decrease of five centimeters since Thursday.

In announcing the measure to address the drought and lack of rainfall, Governor Jenniffer González explained that the original plan called for 24-hour suspensions, but that, following discussions with the mayors and their teams, it was determined that 48-hour periods would make it easier to coordinate the distribution of water and organize assistance in the affected communities.

The start of rationing coincides with worsening drought conditions in Puerto Rico. The most recent report from the U.S. Drought Monitor placed 9.49% of the territory under extreme drought.

According to the report, another 26.14% of the island remains under severe drought, an increase of 1.39 percentage points from the previous week’s 24.75%.

Meanwhile, the area affected by moderate drought decreased from 36.01% to 32.14%, representing a reduction of 3.87 percentage points. 11.17% of the territory remains under unseasonably dry conditions, a decrease of 10.39 points compared to the previous report.

Overall, 78.94% of Puerto Rico is experiencing unseasonably dry conditions or some level of drought.

This situation comes, moreover, after July became the July with the least rainfall recorded at the San Juan station since measurements began in 1898.

The Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated in its outlook this week that there is a 50% or greater probability that rainfall will remain below average through the end of August in the Caribbean.

The forecast does not mean that it will stop raining, but rather that, according to the federal agency, the amount of precipitation the region receives during that period could be less than usual.

NOAA’s current projections also put the probability at 97% that the current El Niño episode will persist until early spring 2027 and an 81% chance that it will reach very strong intensity between October and December.

The National Weather Service (SNM) has explained that the effects of El Niño could limit the rainfall associated with tropical waves and increase the risk that Puerto Rico will enter its dry season with significant precipitation deficits.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.