The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) has placed water restrictions for customers in the Lami-Suva-Nausori corridor in the Central Division.
WAF chief executive Dr Amit Chanan said that the dry weather conditions experienced in March are continuing to date, and have resulted in low raw water extraction due to falling river levels at the Waimanu River.
Dr Chanan said a direct result of the inflow shortage is reduced supply of treated water, causing the intermittent water supply to no water situations for valued customers.
Effective immediately as of today (09/04), water restrictions are now in place for customers in the Lami-Suva-Nausori corridor, the following uses of water is prohibited during this dry spell:
- avoid water usage for car washing
- watering of plants and gardens
- Irrigation of new turfs
- topping up of swimming pools
- washing of hard surfaces, like driveways and footpaths
The wet season long term average (2012 to 2022) flow at Waimanu is 883.77 MLD (million liter per day), but for March and April 2023 the average flow decreased to 281.69 MLD.
Similar to the water level, the long-term wet season average (2012 to 2022) was 1.06m but for March and April 2023 this has decreased to 0.6m which is lower than the minimum 0.8m threshold level required for our raw water pumps to operate.
Customers are requested to save water and use it sparingly, as the delivery of clean and safe drinking water is a priority for WAF.
“WAF urges members of the public to take the necessary steps to conserve water and please practice water conservation in your homes and at the workplaces, as we need to work together to manage this finite resource, particularly at this time,” Dr Chanan said.
