A man carries a large water bottle inside an apartment block in Caracas, Venezuela, March 18, 2019. Living with a scarcity of water is becoming the norm for many Venezuelans.

Families interviewed by Reuters say they have spent months without receiving any water from the tap after power blackouts cut off supply and pipes failed due to a lack of maintenance. Faced with uncertainty of when it might return, and whether it would be enough, they are conserving as much as water as they can take from rivers or buy at shops. They are bathing, washing clothes and dishes, and cooking with just a few liters a day.

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Yudith Contreras, a 49-year-old lawyer, who lives on the 9th floor, stands next to her water tanks on the roof her apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. Contreras said her family recycles the water by using it to flush the toilet. In her kitchen and bathroom, she keeps containers of water, which she carries up the nine floors to her apartment, a few blocks from the presidential Miraflores Palace. "You have to save water because we don't know how long this situation will go on for," she said. From the poorest slums, to the wealthiest neighborhoods, the shortage of water cuts across Venezuelan society as families endure the country's deepest ever economic crisis. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

Eleazar Azuaje, who is in charge of looking after the water system for the apartment block, checks the water level of the main tank of the building in Caracas, March 18. A 5 liter (1.32 gallons) bottle costs about $2 at a Caracas supermarket, out of reach for many low-income people in Venezuela, where the monthly minimum wage is only around $6 each month. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A man washes a child on a patio outside apartment blocks in Caracas, March 17. President Nicolas Maduro's government blames the scarcity of water on a long drought and also accuses opponents of sabotaging its supply. The country's opposition, led by Juan Guaido, who in January invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency after declaring Maduro's re-election a fraud, says the problem is due to little maintenance done over many years on Venezuela's power and water networks. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Residents walk down stairs carrying a container to collect water, at an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 19. Earlier this month, Venezuela was plunged deeper into chaos after a near week-long power blackout cut off the already scant water supply to most residents. Since then, Maduro has promised to place enormous water tanks on the roofs of houses and apartment blocks to alleviate the problem. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

Homemaker Yuneisy Flores, 31, pours water into a container as a child plays inside a flat on the 4th floor of an apartment block in Caracas, March 18. "It's hard, too hard, you can die without water," she said. "We weren't aware of this before. Water now is gold." REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

A blue water container is seen from the 4th floor inside an apartment block in Caracas, March 18. Since the nationwide blackout, the worst in decades, lines of people queuing to fill up water flowing from the Avila have multiplied, despite warnings that the water was not fit for consumption and could contain bacteria and parasites. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Wilson Hernandez stands next to buckets of water on the roof of an apartment block in Caracas, March 17. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Jeans hang from a pole near water tanks on the roof of an apartment block in Caracas, March 17. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Buckets filled with water stand next to a washing machine on the roof of an apartment block in Caracas, March 17. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Maria Libre, a street food vendor, carries a cooler after hanging washed clothing outside her apartment in downtown Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

Water pumps are seen at an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

David Riveros, 62, a retired bus driver, pets his dog next to his father-in-law while they rest at home, on the 1st floor of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 19. Riveros, 62, said, "I ran out of water, today I finished all that I had stored". REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A fish food container stands on top of an empty fish tank at the house of David Riveros, who lives on the 1st floor of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

Water tanks stand on the rooftops of apartments in Caracas, Venezuela, March 17, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso SEARCH "CONTRERAS WATER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Businessmen Javier Esquives, 50, opens his fridge where he keeps his cool water as he explains how difficult it is to live without water, on the 9th floor of an apartment block in downtown in Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Jenny Montana, 38, washes a blanket at home in an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. Montana, currently unemployed, lives with her daughter on the 9th floor of a building where the elevators have been damaged for a long time, according to neighbours. She says that she has to carry containers filled with 20 litres of water. "I remember once I had to carry up five containers in a day", she said. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A red plastic container filled with water to wash the dishes is seen in Jenny Montana's kitchen, on the 9th floor of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A washing machine is filled with reused water in an apartment block in downtown in Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Empty plastic bottles used to collect water are stored in the kitchen of Wilson Hernandez, who lives on the 4th floor of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

Minerva Savago, 58, mops the floor with the little water she collected during the day, on the ground floor of an apartment block in downtown in Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Grecia Ramirez looks at her cellphone while she rests at the house of her aunt Yudith Contreras on the 9th floor of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A woman stands outside a neighbour's house after they chatted about the water problem, on the ground floor of an apartment block in downtown in Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

Eleazar Azuaje, who is in charge of looking after the water system for the apartment block, climbs down from a structure after checking the water level of the tanks at the building in downtown Caracas, March 19. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 

A general view of an apartment block in downtown Caracas, March 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins