People raise concerns over lack of prior notice regarding water cuts while WAF Acting CEO says 85% of customers water restored

Thousands of people in Suva and Nasinu were left frustrated following an unannounced water disruption last night, with many raising concerns over the lack of prior notice from the Water Authority of Fiji.

A Nadera resident told fijivillage News that she only received a notification from WAF an hour after the water supply was cut off.

She says they didn’t have water from 5pm until midnight, leaving her family struggling without water.

The woman says they also had difficulty reaching out to the water carting services, as not everyone has the funds to make calls.

When asked how much prior notice should be given, she says at least two days to allow families enough time to prepare themselves by storing water.

She also stressed that relying solely on Facebook for notifications is not effective, as not everyone is constantly checking the platform for updates.

Meanwhile, Minister for Infrastructure, Ro Filipe Tuisawau says the Waila Water Pump has been restored after last night’s mechanical issues.

Water Authority of Fiji Acting CEO, Seru Soderberg says around 85 percent of affected customers have had their water supply restored; however, system pressures and supply to affected customers are expected to gradually improve throughout the day.

Soderberg says the remaining affected areas include:

• Upper Tovata

• Upper Nagatugatu

• Waiqanake and neighbouring areas

• Customers along Nasese Road

He says these areas are expected to gradually receive water later today into tonight, with full restoration anticipated by Thursday, February 6, 2025.

In regards to communicating the unannounced water disruption that took many by surprise, he says they will work on this in the future.

The Acting CEO says as of 8.30 last night, their technical crews successfully replaced one of the two malfunctioning pumps at the Waila Raw Water Pump Station.

He says with this replacement, four out of five raw water pumps are now operational at the station.

WAF says the successful installation has led to a 95 percent restoration of raw water inflow and production at the treatment plant, restoring normal conveyance and supply capability to the affected reservoirs in the Waila-Wainuibuku system.

They say as of this morning, most of the affected reservoirs in the Waila system have recovered.

WAF says restoration efforts continue at the Flagstaff Reservoir, which is located at the extreme end of the system.

They say to assist affected customers, they have deployed 13 water trucks to provide temporary relief to residents, schools, and businesses during this unplanned water outage.

Meanwhile, WAF’s Mechanical and Electrical teams are actively working on repairing the fifth pump.

WAF says this pump is expected to be installed by Wednesday afternoon, February 5, 2025.

They say once operational, it will restore the remaining raw water shortfall at the Waila Treatment Plant and serve as a standby pump for redundancy.

WAF says they remain committed to expediting remedial works at Waila by tomorrow afternoon, with full supply restoration targeted for Thursday, February 6, 2025.