The water scarcity affecting Puerto Rico is worsening to alarming levels. The United States Drought Monitor reported that severe drought increased from 14.28% to 24.75% in just seven days, while 27 municipalities —from Cabo Rojo to Fajardo— are already within that category, and nearly 2.7 million people live in areas experiencing some level of drought.

There is growing concern over the Carraízo Reservoir, which supplies 180,000 customers in Carolina, Canóvanas, Gurabo, Loíza, San Juan, and Trujillo Alto, as it approaches rationing levels. Governor Jenniffer González has taken an appropriate step by declaring a state of emergency this Friday due to the current situation, just as a new school year is about to begin. We recognize that the mobilization of the National Guard to provide support with water distribution trucks and other urgent efforts is a sound decision. Likewise, the freezing of prices on essential goods and other measures to strengthen mitigation efforts in response to the pressing needs of communities affected by the lack of potable water have been prudent.

However, at this point, it is an insult to Puerto Ricans’ intelligence to suggest that the water shortage is solely due to a lack of rainfall. As engineer Carl Soderberg has documented in these pages, Puerto Rico has been facing a structural water crisis that predates any drought by years: infrastructure dating back to the 1940s and 1950s that has already exceeded its useful life; a Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewer Authority (PRASA) that controls neither the electricity on which it depends nor most of the island’s reservoirs —it has jurisdiction over only eight of 36—; and reservoirs such as Dos Bocas and Guayabal that have lost 70% and 50% of their capacity, respectively, due to accumulated sedimentation. The advance of saltwater intrusion led the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources to declare the Southern Aquifer in critical condition.

Like the specter haunting our aging power grid, failures continue unabated. One example is the breakdown that affected the Finca Rosso 1 plant, leaving 60,000 customers in Bayamón and Guaynabo with low or intermittent water pressure. The situation there illustrates the nature of the problem: it was a voltage fluctuation that shut down and damaged the pumps, causing the failure. PRASA states that it has already repaired the issue. This is the type of operational response we expect, but it is not enough. As we warned in June, when the country had already been suffering months of interruptions in San Juan, Bayamón, and dozens of other communities, it is also unacceptable to use the excuse that this is merely a legacy of past administrations. PRASA’s director was appointed to solve problems, not simply to provide explanations.

While the government addresses both fronts —infrastructure failures and the drought that lies ahead— citizens also have an unavoidable responsibility. Excessive or unnecessary water consumption, at a time when reservoirs are losing capacity day by day, is not a luxury the country can afford. That responsibility must be exercised with particular care toward the most vulnerable sectors: hospitals and elder care facilities require priority attention and assurances of supply in the event of any contingency.

This complex scenario calls for a review of the Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience Plan, which contains 59 recommendations regarding water resources —including reducing losses in the distribution system, reusing treated wastewater, collecting rainwater, and creating barriers against saltwater intrusion— that have remained shelved for two years.

The drought is undoubtedly a national emergency, and it must be addressed as such: through the combined efforts of the public and private sectors. However, it is urgent that this sense of urgency extend to the structural reforms that PRASA has needed for decades. The failures in the electrical system and now this unprecedented water shortage are simply exhausting the public’s patience.

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