Photo by Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel

As a child, visits to my grandmother’s home in the rural area between the municipalities of Humacao and Yabucoa, in eastern Puerto Rico, often began with the same question: “Is there running water?” Decades later, we have stopped asking—not because the problem has been solved, but because we already know the answer. She either has no running water at all or lives with such low water pressure that access remains uncertain.

Community-based organizations across Puerto Rico, particularly in rural areas, have long organized to demand access to running water, but public officials often treat this struggle as a problem of the past. Yet the water-rationing program initiated by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) on August 7 in response to an anticipated drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon reveals how persistent the problem remains. Although the program was recently suspended following temporary relief from cloud-seeding efforts, declining reservoir levels recorded on September 21—nearly a week after the intervention—underscore why Puerto Rico’s water crisis cannot be understood as a matter of climate alone.

The water crisis predates the current drought. PRASA has long struggled with deteriorating infrastructure, compounded by two unsuccessful privatization attempts between 1995 and 2004. Many communities have responded by developing their own aqueducts, but these initiatives cannot match the scale of the structural problem on their own.

Amid the drought, there are also growing concerns that El Súper Tubo, Puerto Rico’s main distribution pipeline, has reached the end of its useful life. In response, the government has called on residents and community organizations to prepare for drought conditions that could persist through the end of the year.

There is broad consensus in Puerto Rico on the importance of local communities in addressing the water crisis. Yet calls for communities to take the lead raise questions that demand a more nuanced approach. How is the burden of the water crisis distributed? What do calls for autonomous community action demand of local leaders and the everyday work of their organizations? How have the austerity measures imposed amid Puerto Rico’s debt crisis affected PRASA’s capacity to respond?

Who Bears the Burden of Puerto Rico’s Water Crisis? 

The rationing affected an estimated 500,000 residents across San Juan, Trujillo Alto, Loíza, Canóvanas, Juncos, Gurabo, and Carolina, many of whom continue experiencing interruptions and low water pressure. The burden of Puerto Rico’s water crisis falls along lines of race, class, and gender. In........

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