The upcoming Rewa River Water Supply Scheme will help to resolve the issue of intermittent supply in certain parts of the greater Suva-Nausori area by expanding WAF’s supply capacity.
#WAF CEO, Dr Amit Chanan, said that the project will add an additional 40 million litres per day into the Suva/Nausori water system, enabling WAF to cater for the extra demand, which has been the reason for intermittent supply.
“360,000 people have moved into the Suva-Nausori corridor over the last 10 years, with no new source of water. As a result, we are currently producing 2 million litres per day less than the requirements of the Greater Suva-Nausori area – 164 million litres per day versus the 166 million litres per day demand,” explained Dr Chanan.
“This requires us to balance our supply – we supply some water to a particular area in the morning, and in the afternoon, we give water to another area. When you experience low pressure or intermittent supply, it is because our teams are carrying out valve operations to fill up reservoirs somewhere.”
Dr Chanan said that although this is understandably frustrating for customers who live in these areas, this is the best solution until the Rewa River Water Supply Scheme is up and running.
“We would like our customers to understand that until the Rewa River Water Scheme is complete, these are necessary measures so they at least have regular access to water, even if it is not 24/7.”
Dr Chanan said that the project has been designed with a long-term view to improve service delivery in the region as a whole, not just the Suva-Nausori corridor.
“This project will also relieve pressure on other parts of our infrastructure that are being stressed by the current demands, and as a proactive measure, there are provisions in place by which this can be expanded to a further 80 MLD, in case of even greater demand in the future.”
“In the interim, we once again ask for the patience and understanding of our customers. Beyond balancing operations, we also deploy our water carting teams where needed to address the current issues.”
The Rewa River Water Supply Scheme will be completed by May 2023.
