Essay on Water Management in Suva

Suva is the capital city of Fiji. Fiji is a country which is located in the south of Pacific Ocean. Suva is a city which enjoys a good supply of rainwater. On top, the town enjoys a supply of water from the Laucala Bay whose water supply from the local pump stations has been improved in the recent times.

Annually, there is the wet season and the dry season. The wet season, also known as the tropical cyclone begins from November to April, while the dry season starts from May to October. During the dry season, rainfalls average at about 20 percent, and it is unevenly distributed over the various locations and unpredicted times. Annually, Suvas temperature averages 27 degrees Celsius. The temperatures can rise as high as 32 degrees, and it can also fall as low as 18 degrees. The average rainfalls per year in Suva are an annual amount of 4000 mm.

Just like many other major cities, Suva, and Fiji as a whole sources its water both from the surface and groundwater. The principal islands which have many mountains thus they possess reliable surface water sources. The small highlands, on the other hand, have low altitudes thus little permanent surface water sources. They, therefore, rely mostly on the underground and rain waters. There is a considerable river known as Rewa on the Viti Levu Island. The river flows from Tomanivi, one of Fijis highest peaks, southwards to Laucala, just next to Suva. There are also other rivers like Nadi, Ba, and Sigatoka which are also very important water sources for the Island (Robertson 2016).

Total water usage in Fiji amounts to over 84 million cubic meters. I Suva, most of the water is used for agriculture, followed by the municipality then industries uses the least amount. The water used for all these purposes in Suva is sourced from the surface. By the year 2003, a total of 4000 ha of Fijis land was irrigated by the surface water (Singh, & Goswami, 2017), a figure which represents 90%. The main crop produced in Fiji which requires irrigation is the rice farming (Phillips & Keen, 2016).

There are institutions which are responsible for management of wastewater and sanitation in Suva. There is the Suva-Nausori Water Supply and Sewerage project which was funded by the Asian Development Bank, and the project is responsible for the recent refurbishment of five sewage-pump stations. The project helps to provide a clean water supply into Suva city for the domestic and industrial use. The Suva-Nausori project also helps to recycle the waste waters to be reused in activities such as irrigation. (Devi, Lowry, & Weber, 2017).

A part of the project, there is also the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) which also manages the waste waters and maintains proper sanitation in Suva (Isley et al. 2018). The ministry of agriculture controls the water used for irrigation and also helps to manage floods in various areas of the country.

In conclusion, Suva as the capital of Fiji has its water sourced from both the lake and regular rainfall. The water is used for farming, industrial services, and domestic services. The Asian Development Bank helped to fund the Suva-Nausori Water Supply and Sewerage project which is responsible for supplying clean water to the residents.

References

Devi, P. P., Lowry, J. H., & Weber, E. (2017). Global environmental impact of informal settlements and perceptions of local environmental threats: An empirical case study in Suva, Fiji. Habitat International, 69, 58-67.

Isley, C. F., Nelson, P. F., Taylor, M. P., Stelcer, E., Atanacio, A. J., Cohen, D. D., ... & Maata, M. (2018). Reducing mortality risk by targeting specific air pollution sources: Suva, Fiji. Science of The Total Environment, 612, 450-461.

Phillips, T., & Keen, M. (2016). Sharing the City: Urban Growth and Governance in Suva, Fiji. State, Society and Governance in Melanesia, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, the Australian National University.

Robertson, M. L. B. (2016). The affects of waterThe materialized morality of wells, pipes, and pumps in Tarawa, Kiribati. Society & Natural Resources, 29(6), 668-680.

Singh, I. R., & Goswami, S. N. R. (2017). Assessment of water quality of river Navua, Fiji for irrigation purpose. Asian Journal of Soil Science, 12(1), 187-190.