The Water Authority of Fiji is advising customers to conserve water and have enough stored for at least two days. This call for water conservation comes as the Tamavua system faces critically low levels in its raw water sources.
Currently, out of six major raw water sources, five are reported to be in critical condition, including Headwork’s 1, Headwork’s 2, Headwork’s 3, Waimanu Pump Station, and Savura Pump Station. In the Central Eastern region, of the 20 water sources, nine have reached critical levels, in addition to five sources that are either normal or nearing critical status, with declining levels and flow trends observed.
Samuela Rokovaleusa, the Acting Chief Operating Officer of WAF, noted that recent rainfall has had minimal effect on the water levels and warned that without significant rainfall in the coming days, the situation may worsen. He explained that the past two months have seen limited rainfall, resulting in most water sources being at base flow conditions, where total stream flows are primarily reliant on groundwater.
Rokovaleusa emphasized that the critical state of raw water due to low rainfall in catchment areas is leading to decreased treated water production and challenging reservoir levels at Tamavua Reservoir. The reduced availability of raw water directly affects water production, resulting in lower reservoir levels. The WAF Hydrology Team is closely monitoring the main raw water sources.
He also mentioned that customers in areas serviced by the Tamavua Water Treatment Plant may face temporary disruptions as operational teams may need to adjust valves based on treated water production levels.