Residents of Wailagi in Ba have been left without running water after a power outage halted the community’s self-managed pumping system, residents say, prompting urgent appeals to Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) for restoration. Community member Amit Kumar raised the alarm on social media after repeated attempts to reach EFL by phone failed, saying the outage has forced about 40 households to go without water.
Kumar told neighbours online that Wailagi’s water supply depends on electric pumps that fill a single concrete distribution tank with a capacity of 150,000 litres. With the power cut in place, the pumps cannot operate and the tank is no longer being replenished, he said. “This is creating serious hardship for families, including children and the elderly,” Kumar posted, calling on EFL to give Wailagi priority in its restoration efforts.
The outage is one of several disruptions affecting parts of the Western Division after recent adverse weather damaged power infrastructure, according to residents. While those wider disruptions have been reported before, this is the latest escalation in the Western Division: a specific community now faces an acute water shortage because its local system relies on mains electricity to operate pumps and distribute stored water.
Wailagi’s arrangement is an example of how many rural settlements outside urban service coverage manage water: local committees or residents run bore pumps and storage tanks, but still depend on the main power grid to keep systems functioning. In this case, Kumar and other residents have urged EFL to prioritise repairs to the line feeding their area so the pumps can be restarted and the 150,000-litre tank refilled.
As of the latest reports, EFL had not issued a public response to Wailagi residents’ social media appeals. Community leaders say they have tried contacting the utility multiple times without success and want confirmation of when supply will be restored so households can plan for immediate needs such as drinking water, cooking and hygiene.
Local officials and utility crews have in the past warned that adverse weather can cause cascading effects — power faults that then interrupt water supply, sanitation and other essential services. For Wailagi, the immediate priority remains restoring electricity to the pump site; residents are also exploring short-term measures to secure drinking water for the most vulnerable until the line is repaired.
This development underlines how weather-related damage to infrastructure in the Western Division continues to affect small communities, not just in terms of electricity but also the basic water services that depend on it. Wailagi’s residents say they will continue pressing EFL for swift action and have asked local representatives to monitor the situation while families cope with the disruption.
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