Puerto Rico rations water supplies due to intense drought

Hundreds of thousands of people are going without running water for two days at a time in Puerto Rico, as authorities in the US territory take drastic measures to combat a severe drought.

Many households on the Caribbean island have been split into two groups – with each having their water supply shut off for 48 hours on a rotating basis.

Residents in the capital, San Juan, where the taps were turned off on Friday, decried the rationing. Officials have not said when the measure will end.

Most of Puerto Rico is facing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor, which has been compounded by long-term issues with the island’s infrastructure.

Puerto Rico’s water authority says about 65% of the water it produces is lost or goes unbilled, much of it through leaks and ageing pipes, according to the BBC’s US news partner CBS.

The island’s Governor Jenniffer González has acknowledged these issues, but says rationing was implemented due to the weather, which has left the crucial Carraízo reservoir depleted.

Puerto Rico experienced its driest July on record, with 68% of the island currently facing drought conditions.

Seven regions usually served by the reservoir have been affected, with 180,000 properties subject to rationing, the government said.

González said the decision was taken “after carefully evaluating the current conditions of the Carraízo reservoir in conjunction with weather forecasts”.

“This situation is beyond our control,” she said in a statement. “It is the result of the weather conditions we have been facing, which experts had warned about weeks ago.”