Thursday, December 26, 2013

Kia Island and Kavewa Island - from salt water to drinking water

from w
What a good idea, as there surely is plenty of salt water around Kia Island, but they've always had the problem of not enough fresh water.  The answer is desalination, but I wonder how much it cost.
Here's the story in today's Fiji Times.

Villagers celebrate opening of desalination plant

Serafina Silaitoga
Friday, December 27, 2013
THE days of each household bringing a bucket of water each to village functions is over for villagers of Ligau on Kia Island in Macuata.
On Saturday, the villagers celebrated the opening of their very own desalination plant that turns seawater into drinking water. Commissioned by the permanent secretary for Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amena Yauvoli, the village elders have labelled the Japanese-donated machine a blessing.
Village headman Akuila Tutora said for more than five decades, villagers of Kia have struggled to find proper drinking water. "We are blessed here at Ligau Village that the government and the Water Authority of Fiji decided to install the machine in our area because of the school and it will also help us organise our village function more confidently," Mr Tutora said."In the past years, if we have a village function here in Ligau, every family will have to bring a bucket of water each for the function. If the function involves the whole island, then the families from the three villages of Ligau, Daku and Yaro will have to come with their supply of water."
Mr Tutora said such experiences were a challenge for the villagers."It's not easy but we have to bring the water to the function because the children will need it for drinking and our women for cooking and for the grog during traditional ceremony. We have pools and springs of water in the villages but it is only used for bathing and washing clothes. The villagers of Kia depend on the rain for drinking water if our water springs dry up during dry weather."
The desalination plant was donated by the Japanese Government at the cost of about $3million. Ligau Village has two plants installed because of the shortage of drinking water faced on the island.
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And a story about Kavewa Island from Fiji Sun.

It’s only clean water now in Kavewa

Village headman Emosi Time  tests the water at the new desalination plant.  Photo: SERUWAIA WAQASAQA
Village headman Emosi Time tests the water at the new desalination plant. Photo: SERUWAIA WAQASAQA
By SERUWAIA WAQASAQA
Villagers of Kavewa Island in Macuata rejoiced in their new found water supplying last Friday after a desalination plant was opened.
Given by Japan and installed by the Water Authority of Fiji, the plant was part of the Cool Earth Partnership.
Speaking during the commissioning of the plant, the chief guest and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amena Yauvoli, said the villagers should be grateful for the Government’s support in installing the desalination plant.
Prior to the installation the villagers had to use rain water for cooking and drinking.
Village headman Emosi Time said years of depending on well and rain water had come to end.
Mr Time said the 20 households in the village had been without proper drinking water since the village was established.
“Women in the village wash clothes and dishes at a small stream and depend on rain water for drinking and stored water in the tank,” he said.
Mr Time thanked the Government and WAF for their assistance.
Meanwhile, Kia Island in Macuata will also receive a desalination plant.



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