Almost half of Fiji’s treated water is being lost before reaching consumers, according to the Fiji Bureau of Statistics’ Experimental Environmental Account for Water 2025.
The report shows that 49.3 percent of water extracted by the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) was lost during distribution in 2025, while a further 5.3 percent was lost during the purification process.
Despite these losses, total water extraction increased by 2.1 percent to 171,595 megalitres in 2025. Of this, 89.9 percent was extracted by WAF, while households accounted for the remaining 10.1 percent through alternative sources such as rivers, wells and rainwater.
Households remained the largest consumers of water, accounting for 80.5 percent of total usage, followed by commercial users at 13.8 percent and government at 5.7 percent.
Household water consumption increased by 8.5 percent compared to 2024, while commercial and government usage declined by 8.3 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.
The report also highlights ongoing reliance on alternative water sources, with households continuing to use rivers, groundwater and rainwater to supplement supply.
FBoS says the environmental account provides a framework to better understand water production and usage patterns, although current data does not yet include alternative water sources used by businesses.
The Bureau plans to expand future reports by incorporating business data and conducting surveys on water consumption across households and enterprises.
The findings underscore both growing demand for water and the significant losses within the system, raising concerns about efficiency and long-term sustainability of the country’s water supply.
