The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) has installed 2 generator sets at the Waila Raw Water Pump and Waila Water Treatment Plant to help improve the water supply to Fijians in these areas.
“Having undertaken over the last three months, site and asset inspections throughout much of our wide network we have been able to identify service delivery risks in multiple areas which we are addressing,” said WAF CEO, Mr. Barry Omundson.
“One of the high risks identified was the inadequacy of existing generators to cater for an increased demand for water in the Suva network. The installation of generators capable of activating and supporting all pumps necessary to deliver against the demand will see our customers receive a more regular supply of water through our system, particularly so as it takes in, some cases over a week to normalise supply when we experience unplanned power outages.”
“Having generators capable of meeting this demand during those times is essential in providing water to our over 60% of customers in Suva.”
WAF recorded a 13% decrease in water cuts in January 2020 compared to January 2019 and a 44% decrease in February 2020, compared to February 2019.
“But, we are not getting ahead of ourselves as while the statistics show we are experiencing fewer complaints on breaks in Suva than at the same time as last year, they still paint a poor service picture to our customers.
“We are working hard on improving, including replacing those assets that need replacing, ensuring a consistent service delivery standard, empowering our staff to get things done sooner rather than later, and building an organizational culture capable of making every Fijian proud of the services delivered by the Water Authority of Fiji.”
“We have a long way to go, but the journey has started, and I ask all our customers to bear with us a little longer and store up to 2 days of water, especially now during the COVID-19 emergency,” Mr. Omundson said.