Landslide cuts off water supply system in Goroka

By ZACHERY PER
A LANDSLIDE at the Goroka town water sediment pond has cut off the water supply to residents.
Goroka Urban local level government manager Harold Abori said the landslide last weekend destroyed the water-spillage wall.
He said the wall was built during the colonial days by the then Elcom (now PNG Power Limited) to supply electricity to Goroka town.
Abori said the wall had been weakened over the years and succumbed to the force of the landslide.
“We are now working to restore the water flow. We had a crisis meeting with Eastern Highlands provincial administrator Samson Akunai and the Top Management Team to rectify the situation,” he said.
Abori said the provincial government would provide K500, 000 and the LLG K100,000 to fix the problem.
They will build the retention and spillage wall and isolate the landslide section to stabilise it before permanent walls are erected to allow the water to spill over.
Meanwhile, Abori said such problems could be quickly fixed if water users paid their water bills.
“We have a big issue of ratepayers failing to pay their bills,” he said.