Puerto Rico doesn’t have enough money to pay its bills. It went into default for the first time in its history on Monday. Now it’s running out of water too. Literally.
A drought has forced the island’s government to ration water. It’s become so bad that the government is actually turning off tap water in people’s homes, sometimes for days at a time. The main tourist areas, however, are exempt for now.
It’s easy to blame this problem on the hot, dry weather, but Puerto Ricans say that isn’t the only culprit. They believe the government has mismanaged the island’s water supply and pipes for years.
Juan Camacho’s home will have running water for a day and then no water at all for the following two days. He lives in Trujillo Alto, a town that is a mere 13 miles from downtown San Juan, the capital.
When the water comes back on, many Puerto Ricans like Camacho keep the faucets running for hours, filling up cans, bowls and bins with water.
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In 1994, the island went through a similar water crisis. Puerto Ricans hoarded water then like they are now. Buckets of water sitting in a hot, tropical climate gave birth to mosquitoes, which sparked a Dengue fever outbreak.
