Water Theft Still A Problem: Authority

Stealing of water at informal settlements is still a problem the Water Authority of Fiji has to deal with among other issues.

Water Authority of Fiji acting team leader corporate Peni Shute said WAF teams had to attend to cases where there were illegal connections.

He said these cases usually happened in informal settlements.

“This is an ongoing issue. It does not happen that frequently, but it does take place. People are finding ways to obtain water illegally,” he said.

In a humanitarian move, the Government had allowed informal settlements to get connected to the power and the water grid.

For water connections, this has meant that water meters are lined in one part of the settlement.

Mr Shute said WAF provided the connection to the meters from the main.

“From the main, it is the responsibility of the customers. They have to get licensed plumbers to do their piping from the meters to their homes,” he said.

“Unfortunately for informal settlements, it is a bit hard to have proper organized pipelines from the meters to homes because there are no lots and houses are built anyhow.

“We try our best to ensure that piping is done properly and in a manner that is not prone to damage.”

At Mamas Place in Caubati, Nasinu, water meters are lined at the entrance of the settlement and pipes can be seen running all over the place from the meters.

A resident of the informal settlement, Surendra Singh, said people ran pipes to their homes the shortest way possible.

“People try their best to protect the pipes but there is no set path for pipes, so people just do it anyhow,” he said.

A resident of Mamas Place with a proper allocated lot, Sashi Kiran said it was common for pipes to be leaking.

She said sometimes it was weeks before the owners of the pipes would fix it leading to wastage of water.

Edited by Percy Kean

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