Water Supply

Tegucigalpa's municipal government is evaluating 41 existing wells and planning to drill 33 new ones in hopes of reaching about 70 functioning wells to help meet the city's water demand.

Capital authorities are considering lengthening water rationing in Tegucigalpa to 9 days as the city faces ongoing supply constraints.

The San José Dam, Tegucigalpa's first major water-infrastructure project in three decades, has resumed work after a 17-month halt and is now 46% complete; city officials plan to finish by 2028 to help ease chronic water shortages in the capital.

Tegucigalpa faces a water deficit of roughly 100 million cubic meters, and officials say the planned San José dam, though helpful, will not meet the capital's growing demand; authorities are contracting private wells and studying water transfers from other regions.

The mayor of Tegucigalpa warned that a permanent solution to the capital's water shortage will not arrive before 2028, signaling a prolonged crisis in the city's water supply.

Manuel Amador, president of the Water Boards, warns that the capital has a 100-million-cubic-meter water shortfall; he argues the proposed San José de Jacaleapa dam would add only 8 million cubic meters while over 200 neighborhoods lack piped water and 40% of users receive irregular service.

Carlos Hernández, a former SANAA engineer, warns that Tegucigalpa's water output will likely be reduced to sustain supply through September amid ongoing shortage concerns.

Tegucigalpa loses 40–45% of its water supply to deteriorating pipes as the capital's 35-year-old system struggles to serve two million people; the municipality is pursuing $155 million in repairs and a new dam expected to open in early 2028.

Tegucigalpa's water utility UMAPS set up WhatsApp lines (9408-3544 and 9398-7054) for residents to report leaks and water waste, as the capital faces a daily shortfall of 69,000 cubic meters and nearly half the water supplied never reaches homes due to system failures.

Residents of Honduras's capital pay an average of L37 (about $1.48) per month for water service, a rate the public utility says is too low to fund infrastructure upgrades needed to improve supply and reduce service interruptions.

Tegucigalpa's water authority reported that aging, broken pipes lose between 40 and 45 percent of the capital's water supply daily, leaving residents with only 90,000 of the 250,000 cubic meters needed, and warned that the two main reservoirs may reach critical levels by August or September without adequate rainfall.

UMAPS clarified that it does not charge for potable water distributed by its tanker trucks during the ongoing water shortage in Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, and urged residents to report anyone demanding unauthorized payments.

The Municipal Water and Sanitation Agency (UMAPS) has published a distribution schedule for Tegucigalpa limiting potable water delivery to one day per week per sector, with specific times varying by neighborhood from July 1–5.

The National Congress authorized three contracts to build and supervise water-supply infrastructure in Comayagüela (Tegucigalpa) and Apacilagua (Choluteca), with funding assured through 2026 and beyond.

The UMAPS water authority says work has resumed on the San José Dam under Mayor Juan Diego Zelaya's administration, and officials assert that if operational it would add over 40% to the city's water storage capacity.

Tegucigalpa's water authority plans to distribute water for 12 hours on four days each month, with water trucks supplying high-altitude areas where pipes cannot reach.

Officials from Honduras and Japan met at the presidential palace to discuss improving drinking water supply to the Central District and advancing a planned bypass road in Puerto Cortés, as part of broader cooperation on infrastructure and development.

The two main reservoirs supplying Tegucigalpa, Los Laureles and La Concepción, have fallen to 41.3% and 39% capacity respectively, prompting authorities to maintain a high-risk water alert and urge residents to conserve.

A forestry engineer warns that El Niño arriving earlier than usual from June through September will reduce water supplies for drinking and power generation, harm planting of beans and corn, and increase wildfire risk across Honduras.

The capital's water authority has shifted to a once-weekly distribution schedule for thousands of residents served by the Los Laureles and La Concepción reservoirs, which have fallen below 50% capacity, with July and August forecast as the most critical months.

Honduras's atmospheric agency confirmed the onset of an extreme El Niño phase, potentially bringing prolonged drought, high temperatures, and water scarcity that could affect agriculture, livestock, hydroelectric power, and drinking water for millions of Hondurans over the next year.

The capital's water utility has announced a rotating supply schedule for June 16–21 with outages of three to six days per neighborhood due to drought-depleted reservoirs now at less than 50% capacity.

Tegucigalpa's municipal government and water department delivered more than 20,000 gallons of potable water to residents of Las Ayestas and El Bosque neighborhoods facing temporary shortages.

COPECO in the Bay Islands received a 1,500-gallon water tanker truck costing about 1.5 million lempiras to support firefighting, water supply, and emergency response across the archipelago.

The president of water boards in Tegucigalpa reports that over 280 neighborhoods lack access to the national water system, and calls for construction of a new dam as the only structural solution to the city's chronic water shortage.

Tegucigalpa's water utility has rescheduled service through June 15, with some neighborhoods experiencing outages of up to six days as reservoir levels remain critically low following an emergency declaration on May 26.

A decree transferring authority over the El Merendón mountain range to the national forestry agency ICF has alarmed the local conservation group Guardianes del Merendón, which warns of deforestation and threats to San Pedro Sula's water supply.

Tegucigalpa's Mayor Juan Diego Zelaya presented municipal measures to address the capital's water shortage at a national civil engineering conference on Wednesday.

Tegucigalpa's water authority warned that even at full capacity the capital has just eight days of reserves, with current daily supply at 60,000 cubic meters against a needed 250,000.

The government has placed 75 municipalities on green alert and 144 under observation, coordinating water distribution, food aid, agricultural support, and preventive health measures through SINAGER to protect communities from an approaching dry season.