Clean water for Tiapapata next year

By Shalveen Chand 31 July 2023, 10:20AM

The people of Tiapapata will have to wait until next year to be connected to a treated water supply system, said the Samoa Water Authority boss , Fuimaono Dominic Schwalger.

Residents of Tiapapata were connected to a water supply system which supplies directly from a water catchment without going through the treatment process.

Fuimaono said this was nothing new as residents in Magiagi and Vailima were at one stage also connected to untreated water before they were connected to treated water.

He said for Tiapapata, the project is already underway.

“We have already started the project, it is a long term project, we are going to pump water down from Malololelei Water Treatment Plant,” he said.

“So that’s treated water, we have already installed tanks. At the moment, the only source that is available to us is a small spring and it is not feasible to put in a treatment system.

“And also for customers along Tiapapata, they are paying only $16 tala a month for the untreated water but once they are connected to the treated water system, they will be metered because it is chlorinated water.

“So that’s in the pipeline. We are hoping for either end of this year or the first quarter of next year.”

Fuimaono said 20 years ago when the residents of Tiapapata were connected to the untreated water, the population was far less.

“In Tiapapata, there were not many people back then, so growth has happened, priority has now shifted to Tiapapata as part of our long term plan,” he said.

According to Fuimaono, it is also not feasible to set up a treatment plant at the Tiapapata catchment.

While S.W.A. works on this project, residents of Tiapapata continue to receive dirty water in their taps.

Over thirty households at Tiapapata Village have had to cope with muddy and unsanitary water supply for over two decades despite being connected to a water supply system.

For most of the families, they were only connected to the water supply grid at the turn of the century, however being connected to the water supply has not changed things for the families as they have had to endure unsanitary supply. This means that most of these families hardly use the water from the taps.

Families are having to spend extra on water as they are buying it, some make the regular trips to the laundromat.

By Shalveen Chand 31 July 2023, 10:20AM
Samoa Observer

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