Sapra says an Israel aid-supported survey conducted at the time mapped potential water sources and submitted its findings to the Water Authority of Fiji, but no action followed. [Photo: PECELI NAVITICOKO]

An abandoned $1 million desalination plant in southern Taveuni has become a symbol of the division’s unresolved water crisis.

Nearly a decade after the facility stopped operating, more than 4,000 residents across the southern end of the island continue to rely on rainwater harvesting and water tanks due to the absence of a reticulated water supply.

Communities are now calling on the government and relevant authorities to deliver practical and long-term water solutions for the region.

According to Ura resident Abhishek Sapra, the desalination plant was built to address chronic water shortages in southern Taveuni but stopped operating shortly after commissioning and has remained idle eversince.

“That worked only just a couple of months, and then it was dead. But even while it was working, people could taste the salt water. Then, when we would inquire, we’d get told the diaphragm is broken and all of this stuff, and we’re going to get it fixed. It never got fixed. When people would wash their vehicles, they realized the rust was starting to form on their vehicles, so no one really used that water.”

Vuna District representative Laisiasa Tuimouta said the project was ultimately abandoned due to environmental concerns and the high cost of operating the facility.

He claimed that the trial project also failed to meet the water demands of communities across Southern Taveuni and pointed to Salialevu as a more viable long-term solution for the area.

Residents say studies carried out in 2017 identified water sources in Salialevu capable of supplying communities across the southern region.

Sapra says an Israel aid-supported survey conducted at the time mapped potential water sources and submitted its findings to the Water Authority of Fiji, but no action followed.

Despite years of uncertainty, residents remain hopeful that a sustainable and reliable water supply can finally be delivered to southern Taveuni under the current governmnet.

Questions have been raised multiple times to the Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau and FBC News is still awaiting the response.