People in 60 areas facing constant water cuts in the Suva/Nausori corridor have been assured that the situation will get better in about 18 months.

Marking World Water Day, Water Authority of Fiji Chief Executive Barry Omundson says WAF is trying to maintain supply to hundreds of thousands of people with infrastructure which was not designed for these demands.

He says the reality is that in order to push water to some affected areas, WAF would risk supply to other customers.

“They only get water sometimes from 10pm to 5am. So they have to wake up at that time to do the washing and other things. All I can say is we are doing all we can with what we have. When someone complains, we go out and adjust some valves to provide water, and somewhere else in the system goes without water”.

Water Authority of Fiji Chief Executive Barry Omundson

He says WAF expects to complete a number of project by late 2022 including a new water treatment facility in Viria, Naitasiri capable of channeling 40 million litres of water.

“When you see a lot of water breaks – far too many for me as CEO- we can’t attend to all because of staffing. We seek additional resources into critical areas which are our priority. The Suva Nausori area is a fast growing area”.

WAF will also award a tender for the supply of generators which will kick in everytime electricity supply is disrupted at any water pumping station.