This summer, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are experiencing widespread service interruptions, inconsistent flow, low-pressure, and a lack of access to clean and safe potable water. The search for water oases or cistern trucks has become a daily household task for many, as more than 150,000 residents across seven municipalities face the imposition of strict water rationing periods.

This latest water emergency is partially the result of long-standing maintenance neglect and major breaks in the superacueducto, the superaqueduct, a problem-and-controversy-plagued seventy-two-inch water line that brings potable water to the San Juan metropolitan area. In addition to the rupture of the superacueducto, a summer marked by the Atlantic hurricane season, extreme heat, drought conditions drying up the reservoirs, a strong El Niño, and Sahara Dust, the huge cloud of dust and air that blows from Africa’s Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean and parts of the southeastern United States, have also negatively impacted water resources and supply.

In response, the governor, Jenniffer González, activated the National Guard to help with water distribution and called for consumers to be “prudent” with water use, indicating that Puerto Ricans would be dealing with low water supplies for some time to come. Throughout August, hundreds have taken to the streets in marches organized by the Coalición Exigimos Agua, La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción, and others demanding urgent solutions so that Puerto Ricans can reliably access the most basic life necessity. In an archipelago used to dealing with frequent blackouts and destructive power surges, dry taps are now frustratingly common.