WAF is trying hard to resolve the issue where every time the power goes off, water supply is affected – Usamate

Minister for Infrastructure, Jone Usamate says the Water Authority of Fiji is trying hard to resolve the issue where every time the power goes off, water supply is affected as well, and as the Minister, he expects the Authority to resolve this as soon as possible.

While responding to questions by fijivillage, Usamate says the last time this happened, there was an overlap between the EFL power going on and the genset system coming on at the same time.

He says at that time, the water that was not going in, rushed back and hit the pipe which caused the disruption.

The Minister also highlighted that the issue with turbidity is dealing with what happens upstream from where water is pumped.

He says if there are a lot of agricultural activities upstream and there are a lot more people planting things then there is a lot more silt getting into the river.

He further says WAF will have to upgrade the system they use to purify and clean the water and there is going to be investments that goes into this.

When asked when this investment can be made, Usamate says he cannot say exactly when. He further says the Ministry is always asking for budget allocation in this regard but they understand that the Government also needs money for social welfare benefits, education and health. He further says this is not something that can only be done by the Water Authority but it is something that they have to work with other Ministries to try to address.

Usamate says they have to talk to the Ministry for Agriculture for agricultural causes and the Ministry of Forest for deforestation as WAF does not have the power, and the relevant authorities have to manage that.