The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) continues to work around the clock to get water supply restored to the affected areas in Labasa.
WAF General Manager Customer Services and Acting General Manager Operations, Mr. Sekove Uluinayau said that crew members have been working to build the temporary cofferdam to repair the leakage to the DN300 Benau to Volanau distribution pipeline, crossing the Labasa River, Nabeka in Siberia, Labasa.
“We have finally built the cofferdam with the use of gabion walls and sandbags, this is being done so that we can isolate the leakage point with the use of water pumps. With the use of an excavator, we are also able to bury the sides of the cofferdam. To completely isolate the leakage – we will require to completely shut down the pipeline during the low tide this evening,” explained Mr. Uluinayau.
Therefore, customers are requested to store and use water wisely from 6:00 pm tonight (28/07) until further notice as water supply will be disrupted to customers feeding from the Volanau Reservoir i.e – Siberia-Batinikama to Vunika-Malau and Vunivau-Basoga to Bulileka-Dreketi Lailai, Vatunibale, Vaturekuka Prison, Low-cost, Urata, Boca Loop Road, Anuve, as well as customers in Boubale.
Meanwhile, water carting trucks have been deployed to service the disrupted areas.
Mr. Uluinayau says that the Authority highly regrets the inconvenience caused and seeks the understanding of customers during this temporary disruption period.
“The worksite is soggy and my WAF team are only able to access the repair site during low-tides, as it is risky for us to be out there during the high-tides, but, nevertheless, we anticipate to conduct repairs from this evening a little after 6 pm,” said Mr. Uluinayau.
For further inquiries, customers can call 3346777 and 5777 (Vodafone, Digicel & Inkk users) or email contact@waf.com.fj