Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) Chief Executive Office Dr. Amit Chanan has called attention to a serious problem facing the nation’s water infrastructure – water leaks.
He says a “staggering” loss of approximately 60 to 70 million liters of water exists in the Suva and Nausori corridor. Suva is the nation’s capital, and Nausori is a nearby town and the fourth most populous municipality in the county.
Part of the reason for the leaks is that the pipe networks are aging, and there has been a lack of investment in Fiji’s water infrastructure over an extended period.
“The reality is we have to fix a lot of things; we have to fix things that are here–and-now issues. The pipe network that is aging, nearly half of the things we produce gets lost in the system because of pipes are leaking everywhere, that is the real issue”, Chanan said (Cava, 2023).
Fiji has a 50-year-old pipeline water infrastructure, which makes it highly susceptible to leaks and water main breaks. WAF report data shows Fiji’s water system leaks and pipe bursts are far worse than the global benchmark.
Fiji’s water network experiences 300 leaks per 1000 service connections and 200 bursts per 100 km of water main, as opposed to the international standard of 3 leaks per 1,000 service connections and three bursts per 100 km.
WAF’s Chief Operating Officer Seru Soderberg says it is clear that Fiji’s water system needs updating and better asset management. He says WAF will need to invest FJ$ 780,000 million over the next five years for water and wastewater infrastructure renewal and climate resilience.
Fiji’s aging water infrastructure and insufficient investment also affect water distribution nationwide. Apart from leaks, their water treatment facilities fail when the raw water deteriorates, for example, when there is too much oil, salt, and dirt in the water. When this happens, water production drops, and customers run out of water.
The Fiji Water Authority has around 153,000 water connections and produces an average of 54,000 liters daily.
According to FBC News, the Water Authority’s production of drinkable water is three million liters short of meeting the daily demands of the Suva/Nausori corridor.
Addressing Fiji’s drinking water supply and ensuring that it is sufficient, the country has announced the Rewa River Water Supply Scheme Project that will add 40 million liters daily. The government has invested FJ$270 million in the project in Viria, including a 40-megaliter water treatment plant, a pumping station, a reservoir, and a transmission main to connect the new water supply to the existing distribution system (Tikotikovatu-Sefeti, 2023).
The Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, expects the project to be completed by the end of July, with full commissioning by October 2023 (Kumari, 2023).
Regarding water leaks, Professor Prasad says poor maintenance and upgrade of our existing water infrastructure has resulted in 47% of treated water getting lost along the pipeline due to leakage, causing major intermittent water supplies across Fiji. However, he adds that significant improvements have recently been made, reducing water disruptions.
The government has also allocated a quarter billion dollars into the water system, where FJ$53.9 million will be used to implement new disaster-resilient infrastructure, including water treatment facilities with a focus on reducing leakages, FJ$6.4 million to improve wastewater operations, and FJ$4.8 million allocated for asset management within the Water Authority (Kumari, 2023).
A total replacement of Fiji’s aging water pipes will be very costly, estimated at over FJ$500 million, and will take time to complete.
The finance minister says they are working with the Asian Development Bank to help them with governance, investment planning, asset management, infrastructure replacement, and upgrades, among other tasks.
Sources:
Cava, L. (2023, July 26). WAF highlights infrastructure challenges. FBC News. Retrieved from https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/water-infrastructure-investment-challenges-highlighted/
Tikotikovatu-Sefeti, S. (2023, March 13). Understanding Fiji’s water problems. Island Business. Retrieved from https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/fiji-water-woes/#:~:text=In%20Fiji%2C%20WAF%20experiences%20300,updating%20and%20better%20asset%20management.
Kumar, K. (2023, January 13). Viria project expected to be completed by mid-2023. FBC News. Retrieved from https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/viria-project-expected-to-be-completed-by-mid-2023/
Kumari, K. (2023, July 1). Major improvements in water supply expected after the completion of Rewa River Viria Water project. Fiji Village. Retrieved from https://www.fijivillage.com/news/Major-improvements-in-water-supply-expected-after-the-completion-of-Rewa-River-Viria-Water-project-5x8f4r/
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