$9.5m Refurbished Waiwai Water Treatment Plant Ends Water Woes

The refurbished $9.5 million Waiwai Packaged Water Treatment Plant in Ba is ex­pected to benefit over 46,000 Fiji­ans.

This was commissioned by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Friday, who said every dollar was funded by the Fijian Government for the benefit of Fijians as well as the manufacturing industries and businesses in the Ba district.

For 56-year-old Sisilia Qoli of Nasolo village, unsanitary water will be a thing of the past, particu­larly the Yavusa Namacuku.

Ms Qoli thanked the Fijian Gov­ernment for providing sanitary wa­ter to those in her community.

“I am happy that after a long time, I have witnessed this day, es­pecially after all the hardships we have faced. Sometimes we have pro­longed water cuts and we have to go to the creeks to wash our clothes but today God has made a way for us,” she said.

Mr Bainimarama said the previ­ous Waiwai Water Treatment Plant was built over 60 years ago with a treatment capacity of 13 million li­tres per day.

However, the new station has dou­bled that capacity with 20 million litres daily.

He said it can handle high turbid­ity levels which means it can supply potable water even during storms and floods.

He said under his Government, $1.56 billion had been allocated since 2009 towards water and waste­water projects.

“We have replaced pipes and valves, built and upgraded reticu­lation systems and reservoirs, pro­tected freshwater resources, and expanded wastewater treatments,” Mr Bainimarama said.

“We’ve also ensured equity by providing free water to low-income families. In times of drought, we’ve carted water to the most remote regions of Fiji,” Mr Bainimarama said.

Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) Board of Directors Chairman Bhavesh Kumar said the upgraded plant provides additional water supply capacity to the current net­work in Ba, allowing for further ex­pansion of the network to residents and for economic development and growth.

“This plant is capable of produc­ing 20 million litres of water per day and I have been briefed by the team that during its commissioning and testing stage, the team has run the plant to produce a lot more wa­ter than that, which gives me con­fidence in saying that we can meet Ba’s increasing water demand for years to come and can safely pro­duce water in excess of 20 million litres per day,” he said.

He said with the population growth in the Western region and distinct dry season reliable water supply was needed.

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