Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 24, 2026 – Nearly 40 percent of Puerto Vallarta’s colonias and residential developments face a weekend without municipal water after an emergency leak developed in a major supply line connected to the Puerto Vallarta–Las Varas highway project.
The suspension is scheduled to begin Friday afternoon across 139 colonias and subdivisions. SEAPAL expects water to begin returning to lower sections of the city Saturday night, while neighborhoods in the upper elevations of El Pitillal may wait until Sunday night or Monday morning.
SEAPAL did not provide an exact shutdown hour. Buildings with water remaining in a tinaco or cistern may not lose service immediately, meaning the timing will vary by property even within the same neighborhood.
The affected territory includes the northern hotel district, upper El Pitillal, Las Juntas and Las Mojoneras. Marina Vallarta, Versalles, Fluvial Vallarta, Aramara, Vallarta 500, Villas Río, La Vena, Las Aralias and Coapinole were among the areas named in the notice released Friday.
The 40 percent figure represents the share of colonias and residential developments affected. SEAPAL has not published an estimate of the number of residents, households or customer accounts covered by the shutdown.
The emergency involves a leak in the pumping line that supplies the San Francisco storage tank. The highway concessionaire is responsible for the repair, while SEAPAL will supervise the work and manage the shutdown and recovery of the distribution network.
SEAPAL said its storage tanks had good levels ahead of the interruption. That reserve could reduce the immediate effect in properties with functioning storage systems, but it does not change the projected recovery period.
Friday’s shutdown is the second major disruption linked to work around the San Francisco supply line in little more than a month. A planned suspension affected 136 Puerto Vallarta neighborhoods beginning June 22 while the highway concessionaire relocated a pipeline supplying the same tank.
Water began returning after that operation on June 23, although SEAPAL reported temporary interruptions as storage tanks refilled and pressure moved back through the network. The utility later announced that service had recovered across all 136 affected areas.
The latest notice does not identify the cause or exact location of the leak. It also does not say whether the damaged section was installed or moved during the June operation, or whether the repair will affect traffic on the highway project.
Those unanswered details leave two separate timelines to watch during the weekend. The concessionaire must first complete the physical repair. SEAPAL must then refill tanks and restore sufficient pressure across a system extending from low-lying districts to elevated neighborhoods.
The utility has separately reported that rainy-season conditions increase water and sewer leaks by at least 25 percent due partly to softened ground, underground movement, and aging infrastructure. SEAPAL has not attributed this particular leak to rain or the age of the pipe.
Households and businesses in the affected zone should preserve stored water through the weekend. Properties in upper El Pitillal should plan around the longer estimate, since the first return of water Saturday night will apply mainly to lower sections of the distribution system.
Service problems can be reported through SEAPAL’s customer channels by dialing 073, calling 322 226 9191 or 322 226 9190, or sending a WhatsApp message to 322 105 8226.
