[Source: Water Authority of Fiji/Facebook]

Water Authority of Fiji teams have managed to expose the fault site along Ki Street in Wailoku and have assessed the extent of damage to the washout.

The pipe is connected to the raw water trunk pipeline, which supplies raw water from Headworks 3 to the Tamavua Water Treatment Plant.

WAF Chief Operating Officer, Seru Soderberg, says apart from the multiple pinholes, the washout outlet pipe has also completely ruptured.

Soderberg says they are currently making the repair site safe as the pipes are around 2.5m and are under an overhanging concrete slab.

[Source: Water Authority of Fiji/Facebook]

He says this poses a major risk to the lives of the welders if it collapses during repairs.

Soderberg says once the site is safe to access, the welders will move in to carry out the repairs on the damaged pipe.

He stresses that the progress of works will be weather-dependent.

[Source: Water Authority of Fiji/Facebook]