Around 100 families in Vatutavui Village, Tavua, have been facing critical water supply challenges for the last three weeks. This village, which houses about 500 residents, relies exclusively on a solar-powered borehole for its water. Due to increased demand, village headman Niko Sucuvakaivalu has had to implement water rationing, forcing many residents to depend significantly on water tanks, drums, and bottled water.
The situation deteriorated further when the Water Authority of Fiji stopped its relief water supplies, which included water tank deliveries. Sucuvakaivalu’s decision to cease water carting services led to growing unrest among the villagers, including Kirikiti Biu, president of the Vatutavui drinking water committee. Many residents now trek over 1.5 kilometers to a stream, taking about 30 minutes to reach the nearest water source.
Biu highlighted the ongoing water access issues in Vatutavui, recalling that the community has discussed securing a reliable water source since the village’s inception. He stressed the urgency of the matter, especially with the dry season exacerbating the situation and impacting children and elderly family members who require sufficient water for their health and hygiene needs.
In a proactive move, the community established a water projects committee in 2017, which successfully secured funding to develop a borehole and acquired water tanks from the previous government. However, the current crisis has intensified the call for immediate government action to restore water deliveries to residents.
The plight of Vatutavui mirrors similar struggles encountered by communities across Fiji, where insufficient water supply persists. For instance, residents in Vatudova, near Labasa, have been enduring a 50-year-long water crisis, relying on old boreholes and nearby streams, while the government has indicated plans for significant infrastructure improvements to alleviate ongoing shortages in various regions.
Local authorities are now focused on addressing these widespread water access challenges. As infrastructure development initiatives move forward, communities remain hopeful that their battle for access to clean and reliable water will soon come to an end, paving the way for a more sustainable future.