Dredging works is currently being done at the mouth of the Qawa River in Labasa.
The works involve the removal of sediments from the river floor in order to deepen and widen the River.
The area being dredged is 1.5 kilometres long from the river mouth to the sea, 70 meters wide and five meters deep.
Minister for Waterways, Mahendra Reddy says silt deposits that come down the water ways accumulate at the mouth of the river.
Dr Reddy says they are now looking at the option of dredging the river mouth annually to help stop flooding.
“It will depend on the situation. If we are able to protect our catchment and control the amount of silt material that comes down our waterways then we may not have to do it every year. It’s just a question of how we can protect the entire conveyance system.”
The dredging works cost government a little over half a million dollars.
