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Public dialogue for water is vital

February 25, 2024 7:55 am

[File Photo]

The French Embassy, in collaboration with the Alliance Française de Suva, hosted a public presentation titled “Drop by Drop: The Journey of Water” – An Enlightening Event on Water Sustainability.

The event shed light on critical topics such as water potability and sanitation, in a manner accessible to all.

The event aims to bridge the gap between scientific understanding and public awareness regarding water’s vital role in our lives and environment.

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Suez Consulting Project Manager, Quentin Etcheverry says that such engagement facilitates the sharing of knowledge on important topics, particularly water and sustainability.

“The reason why I wanted to do this presentation today is that we all consume water every day and i feel like there is a lack of knowledge on how it works, how it is a daily miracle to open your tap and have safe drinking water it’s not natural at all and that is what i wanted to share today and how we make it everyday.”

Etcheverry adds that Pacific countries often encounter challenges in maintaining their water systems due to their population size.

“The financial sustainability of water systems in the Pacific is very risky and it relies a lot on donors because the main issues come from the population size of the pacific island countries with very little population is very hard to finance the huge infrastructure that is required for proper service and it is a real challenge by all the operators in the pacific island countries everyday.”

Suez Consulting is a French-based utility company that operates predominantly in the water and waste management sectors.

Thus far, they have successfully constructed 11 water treatment plants in Fiji, making a significant contribution to the country’s water infrastructure.