Medellín Water Rationing: EPM's Aug. 31 Schedule for 6 Communes

EPM confirmed on August 28, 2026 that Medellín water rationing moves from risk alert to scheduled cuts: starting Monday, August 31, six communes go on an every-other-day cycle from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., an initial run of about one month, per Telemedellín and El Colombiano. It’s a fast escalation from the low-stream-flow alert EPM issued days earlier, which warned cuts were possible but set no calendar.

Quick answer: If you live in Popular, Manrique, Villa Hermosa, Aranjuez, La Candelaria, or Buenos Aires, expect water off for roughly 11 overnight hours every other night beginning August 31. Everywhere else in the aqueduct system is unaffected for now. Check your specific address and scheme through EPM’s WhatsApp assistant “Ema” at +57 302 300 0115 with your contract number, per Telemedellín’s reporting.

Medellín water rationing: which communes and when

The cuts hit 109,235 installations — about 7% of the 1,518,161 accounts on Medellín’s aqueduct system — across Popular, Manrique, Villa Hermosa, Aranjuez, La Candelaria and Buenos Aires, per El Colombiano, Vivir en El Poblado and EPM’s own El Niño interruptions page. EPM hasn’t published a resident headcount for the affected zone — the installation count above is the only figure the utility has confirmed. EPM is running the ten affected circuits on two alternating schemes:

• Scheme 1 (from Aug. 31): La Montaña, Santa Elena, Los Mangos, Campo Valdés, La Honda–La Cruz.
• Scheme 2 (from Sept. 1): Comunidad El Toldo, Versalles, Villa Hermosa, Limoncito, Llanaditas.

Each scheme loses water every other night, 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., through the end of September, per Vivir en El Poblado’s breakdown of the circuits, which EPM’s own schedule confirms. EPM says it will run four water trucks (carrotanques) plus two adapted vehicles into affected sectors nightly between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. as a stopgap, according to El Tiempo.

Scheme	Sample nights (Aug. 31–Sep. 14)
Scheme 1	Aug. 31, Sep. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14
Scheme 2	Sep. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13

Both schemes keep that every-other-night rhythm through the end of September. EPM has said the calendar can shift, so confirm your own building’s exact dates through Ema rather than counting forward from this table.

Why Medellín water rationing started now: a 120-litre-per-second gap

EPM’s own figures put the shortfall at approximately 120 litres per second — about 10.4 million litres a day — across the circuits serving the affected communes, per EPM’s dedicated El Niño interruptions page. El Colombiano frames the same gap as pressure on the Piedras Blancas system, which feeds those northeastern and east-central sectors and is falling short of demand as reservoir inflows drop through the dry season. The every-other-day cycle is EPM’s way of rationing that specific shortfall directly rather than cutting pressure system-wide.

The driver is an intensifying El Niño pattern: forecasters cited by EPM put a 69% probability of a severe episode, comparable to 1997–98, with the most acute phase expected January–March 2027 and regional temperatures running as much as 2.8–3.4°C above normal, per El Colombiano. U.S. forecasters are watching the same event: NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center puts the odds of a very strong El Niño above 90% for winter 2026–27 and expects conditions to persist into spring 2027, per its ENSO diagnostic discussion — consistent with EPM framing the risk window as running toward April 2027 even while it targets covering just the first quarter. EPM’s stated goal is stretching reserves to cover the first quarter of 2027, per Telemedellín — the same pressure behind EPM’s new save-or-pay electricity billing program this month.

EPM’s Santiago Wilches, subgerente de Acueducto y Alcantarillado, said the utility is still seeing avoidable waste — “washing vehicles with hoses or watering plants” — that residents citywide should stop regardless of whether their commune is on the schedule, per El Colombiano.

What to do if you’re in an affected commune

• Confirm your scheme and exact nights via Ema on WhatsApp (+57 302 300 0115) or EPM’s service-interruptions page — schedules can shift.
• Store water for the overnight window if your building runs on direct pressure rather than a rooftop tank (tanque de reserva); tank-fed buildings generally ride out an 11-hour cut without residents noticing.
• Flag down water trucks in your sector during the 6:30–9:30 p.m. window if you need supplemental supply.
• Report leaks at 604 4444 115, per EPM’s own customer-service page — cutting waste system-wide is part of how EPM hopes to avoid extending rationing past September.

Quick FAQ

Is El Poblado, Laureles or Envigado affected? No. None of the six communes on EPM’s current list overlaps with those areas, though EPM has said the measure could expand if the deficit widens.

How long will Medellín water rationing last? EPM has budgeted the initial cycle through the end of September 2026, with a stated goal of stretching reserves through the first quarter of 2027 as the El Niño pattern intensifies into roughly April 2027.

What if my building has a rooftop water tank? Buildings with a tanque de reserva generally refill once service resumes and residents may not notice the overnight cut; buildings on direct pressure should store water for the 6 p.m.–5 a.m. window instead.

If your building does end up on the schedule, budget for it: bottled water and any water-truck reliance are one more line item on top of the broader rise in Medellín’s cost of living that renters are already absorbing this year.

This article reflects EPM’s public statements as reported by Telemedellín, El Colombiano, Vivir en El Poblado, El Tiempo and EPM’s own channels as of August 28, 2026. Schedules, deficit figures and El Niño forecasts are EPM’s own projections and can change as conditions evolve — check EPM’s official channels before relying on a specific date.