AT least 47 per cent of treated water gets lost along the pipeline because of the ageing water infrastructure, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Speaking during the Water Authority of Fiji’s Water Sector Strategy 2050 ideation workshop at the Holiday Inn, Suva yesterday, he said the water and sanitation sector in Fiji had been facing major challenges of maintaining and upgrading the existing infrastructure.
“People have been suffering from regular water cuts and disruptions. Approximately 47 per cent of treated water gets lost along the pipeline due to non-revenue water,” Prof Prasad said.
“The task for the new Coalition Government is to address these challenges, which is exacerbated by aging water and wastewater infrastructure, our growing rural to urban drift and the impacts of climate change on our water resources.”
He said the most pressing constraints on WAF’s ability to provide households with a consistent supply of water included a few things — the limited production capacity of existing water treatment plants.
Prof Prasad also said ongoing disruptions to supply were the result of production levels being far below demand for water.
“The increasing demand for water as a result of major commercial and residential developments is also placing an added strain on our aged infrastructure. This needs to be considered carefully.”
Prof Prasad said the majority of existing infrastructure was built at a time when resilience to climate change was “probably not on the minds of people”.
