A resident of the San Agustín neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of La Lisa, reported on Facebook this Wednesday that several streets in her community resemble rivers due to the active leaks in the hydraulic network, while the homes have not received water since September 29.
Elizabeth González Aznar posted images of completely flooded streets and directed her complaint to the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources with a direct message: "To the INRH, look, these are rivers... This is how several streets in San Agustín Lisa look, while many households have not had water since September 29 when the service was interrupted."
What outraged González Aznar the most was the response he received from an INRH official who visited his home: he told him that the leaks are not the reason water does not reach the households.
"You have to have ice in your veins not to react when you see how the human rights that this people do not have are being disregarded. And even colder when an official from the INRH tells you to your face that the leaks are not the reason why water doesn't reach your home," he wrote.
The Cuban woman acknowledged that she did not have the technical training to counter the argument, but deemed it unacceptable coming from someone who should be protecting that resource: "I'm not a hydraulic engineer to argue against it, but even if it's true, it's inhumane and painful to see so much water wasted when thousands of people do not have it."
His message was also a direct appeal to the authorities: "Cuban leaders, it is not the people who need to understand, it is you. Problems arise, breakdowns occur, but with them come the variations of solutions."
This is not the first time González Aznar has raised concerns about this situation. In January 2026, he reported that San Agustín had gone 22 days without water, with water trucks arriving only every ten days when residents were demanding assistance. In September, he again pointed out leakages that had not been repaired for over two years at several intersections in the neighborhood, including streets 240 and 39, and in front of two schools in the area.
The cut that began on September 29 was prompted by the interruption of the Ariguanabo source for electrical maintenance work. Aguas de La Habana promised a gradual restoration that did not materialize for thousands of residents.
This Wednesday, the general director of Aguas de La Habana, Yosvani Rubí Bazail, acknowledged that there is a water deficit in all municipalities of the capital and that recovery will be gradual. According to official figures, over 282,000 people are still affected in Havana, although the maximum number reached 577,000.
The deterioration of the infrastructure partly explains the paradox highlighted by González Aznar: losses due to leaks exceed 40% of the volume pumped before reaching homes, and some main pipelines have gone without comprehensive rehabilitation for 60 to 70 years. On a national scale, approximately 2.7 million Cubans have their service completely or partially interrupted.
The announced structural solution —the installation of 200 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy to make the pumping independent from the electrical grid— is not expected until the early months of 2027.
"Although I understand everything they explain, that doesn't give me the possibility to live without water, because it's a basic need. Therefore, it's not about coming and giving explanations—we know those by heart—it's about coming and providing solutions, ideas on how we are going to live. That's what the people expect," concluded González Aznar.
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