Dirty water, blocked dams and unreliable rural systems continue to cut off communities each wet season, says Water Authority of Fiji CEO Seru Soderberg.
He said many villages still faced “inadequate water supply” whenever heavy rain sets in.
“What we’ve noticed over the years is whenever the weather changes, especially wet spells from November to April, we get a lot of complaints regarding inadequate water supply,” Mr Soderberg said.
He said many rural communities were deprived of a reliable water source during the monsoon period.
“If it is raining, the water is dirty, or the dam is blocked with debris, and this happens on a regular basis.”
He said households often turned to WAF for water carting when their supply fails.
“Many households will be without water supply, they end up calling WAF for water carting, which the government pays for.”
Dry spells also reduce yields in rural schemes.
“During long period of droughts, dams cannot cater for the communities, resulting in many homes being deprived of water.”
He said Government was working to move rural communities onto more reliable systems.
“Namau (in Tailevu) is a fully fledged water treatment plant, water that is being received by the community is fully treated.”
Nakalawaca, Davetalevu and Veinuqa have upgraded supply, and work continues to connect the Namau and Viria plants to improve coverage.
“We are now extending the Namau system to bridge the gap to Korovou and Nausori, and Viria will be extended to supply water back to Namau.”
