Puerto Rico’s governor has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard in response to a major water outage that has disrupted daily life for thousands.
The crisis began late last week when a key water line was damaged during roadwork, leading to a widespread loss of service.
At the height of the problem, nearly 180,000 customers were left without water.
Although service has been restored for most, around 3,000 customers still remain without access to running water.
Among those still affected are several neighborhoods and nearly a dozen hotels, raising concerns over both public health and the tourism industry.
The water outage has caused frustration across the island, especially since the government water and sewer authority has not disclosed the name of the company involved in the roadwork that led to the damage.
In response to the ongoing disruption, municipal workers have established water distribution centers and have gone door-to-door delivering drinking water.
With the National Guard now involved, those efforts are expected to expand.
The governor has appointed a special coordinator to manage the crisis, oversee the repair process, and conduct an internal investigation into the water authority’s handling of the situation. A full report is expected within ten days.
This recent event has drawn attention to the island’s long-standing water infrastructure issues.
Even before the current outage, many communities across Puerto Rico had faced frequent interruptions in water service, pointing to deeper problems that still need to be addressed.