Sakoca residents say not all their water problems are from illegal connections as most homes have their own water meters

Residents in Sakoca say not all their water problems are from illegal connections as most homes have their own water meters.

Fijivillage visited Sakoca yesterday and spoke to residents who say they have their own water meter but sometimes the disruptions are caused by bursts in the pipes connected to the meter.

They say the PVC pipes connected to the main line run near common driveways and are damaged by vehicles.

Sakoca residents have also told us that most of the times the disruptions are directly from the Water Authority of Fiji.

The Water Authority of Fiji says illegal connections are part of the reason and not the entire reason some people may be facing low water pressure or water cuts.

Chief Operating Officer Seru Soderberg says illegal connections happen to the entire WAF infrastructure and it is not restricted to the Suva-Nausori corridor.

He says there are illegal connections for water and waste water.

Soderberg adds they have a team that verifies all the pipeline to find illegal connections and other times they depend on customers that call in and report illegal connections.

Acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there are a lot of water issues in places like Suva, Nasinu and Nausori due to the rural urban drift, and the Viria Dam will bring relief to many people who do not get consistent water supply.

Sayed-Khaiyum gave this assurance as people from Baulevu Landing in Nausori raised concerns about their water supply during the visit of some of the Ministers in the area after the Nav Durga Temple break-in and burning of the Hindu holy book, Ramayan.

The Acting Prime Minister told the residents that the building of Viria Dam is costing about US$250 million.

He says the money is provided by the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank while the Green Climate Fund will give a grant of about $32 million.

While responding to the concerns, Sayed-Khaiyum says they have received complaints of water cuts in areas like Sakoca, Khalsa Road and Vuci, and also issues like illegal connections affecting supply in places like Sakoca.