Labasa and Taveuni are facing mounting water supply pressures, with the Northern Division producing almost a third less water than required as drought conditions worsen.
Minister for Infrastructure Ro Filipe Tuisawau told Parliament this morning that seven of the Northern Division’s 16 water sources were critical, while another five were approaching critical levels.
He said 10 of the region’s 11 water treatment systems were not operating at normal levels.
Water production stood at 19.90 million litres a day against a daily requirement of 29.40 million litres, representing a shortfall of 32.3 per cent.
Mr Tuisawau said 3510 people were affected by water supply disruptions.
This included 2075 people in the Labasa and Benau supply area, 1250 in the Taganikula and Vunika area, and 185 in southern Taveuni.
He said the Taganikula water source had dropped to just eight per cent of its normal flow, while the Bucalevu source on Taveuni had effectively failed.
Taveuni as a whole was experiencing a water production shortfall of about 66 per cent.
Mr Tuisawau said Labasa’s population of 59,145 was increasingly relying on the Nasealevu source as the Navau and Nasarava sources continued to decline.
The two sources normally provided about 75 per cent of Labasa’s raw water supply.
However, Nasealevu was also under pressure, with its production falling from 11.66 million litres to 8.31 million litres a day in the past week.
The minister’s statement highlighted the growing strain on water infrastructure in the North as prolonged dry conditions continue to affect major water sources.
