TEN villages on Moturiki Island remain deprived of access to clean and consistent water supply despite the commissioning of a $3.2million water project on the island in 2022.
Over the last three years, water committee representatives from each village have made numerous journeys – first, by boat from their villages to Ovalau, then, on foot to the hills of Navuloa Village — to determine the cause of water disruptions and attempt to repair it, often without the help of the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF).
The issue, they said, stems from the use of inferior materials or pipes that cannot handle the dense water pressure, causing the pipes to rupture frequently.
“Sometimes, as soon as we return to the village after replacing damaged pipes, more pipes burst and supply is affected again so we have to travel all the way back and repeat the process,” said Viliame Turagaiviu, a representative of the Nasesara Village Water committee.
“In some cases, we’ve gone through this three times in one day. It’s not easy work – it’s exhausting and we’re travelling between two islands to make this work.”
Mr Turagaiviu said high-density polyethylene pipes were needed.
“This was labelled one of the largest maritime water projects in Fiji – costing more than $3m.
“The pipes that were used are thin and cannot handle the water pressure. We’ve told them (WAF) to use (HD) polyethylene pipes because we noticed a difference when we used those to change some of the damaged pipes — they were able to withstand the water pressure — but this change has yet to be done for all the pipes.”
He said following recent media reports, WAF officials showed up at the village.
“They keep telling us the same thing, but no actual action is taken to solve the problem permanently.
“WAF has not been clear on how they will fix this – a lot of money was invested in the project but it’s not working the way it should.”
Women from Moturiki told of their excitement when news of the water project was announced in 2018.
“We had so much hope in this project because we knew our lives would be easier,” said Vani Cagilaba, 50, of Yanuca Village.
“But when the former prime minister came to officially launch the project in 2022, there was no water in the taps – it had to be sourced from water stored in a tank.”
Naomi Vere said due to the constant bursting of pipes, water supply to Yanuca Village had ceased and they had reverted to sourcing water from wells and water tanks.
“Sometimes, we would have water for just a day or two in the taps then no tap water for one or two months. It has been like this for the past three years. The longest period we’ve had water in the taps without disruption was two weeks.”
Bulou Jasiliva Kinivuwai of Nasesara Village said it has been over a month since they had access to tap water. “When there’s water in the taps, we fill everything – drums, buckets and basins – because we know it won’t be long before the supply stops again.
Samuela Tuilevuka of Navuloa Village said the dam was located on land belonging to their tokatoka or family unit.
“My elders were still alive when initial conversations began but after they passed, we were left out of the conversations.”
He claimed the Fiji Roads Authority had also claimed additional land on both sides of the road leading through the village as this was the path on which the pipeline was laid.
Work on the project began in 2019 with the laying of the pipeline from Nacobo, Navuloa, Bureta, and Wainaloka in Ovalau. From Wainaloka, the water main was laid on the seabed from Ovalau to Moturiki.
The water source at Navuloa Village, with a yield of 3.45 million litres per day, was identified as the most feasible and economical water source to supply Moturiki.
Responding to questions sent on August 4, WAF acting manager communications Peni Shute said they needed more time to reply, while questions sent to the Minister of Infrastructure Ro Filipe Tuisawau on August 5 have yet to be answered.
