Water, sewerage need urgent work

 EDA Ranu is facing serious water woes.

Not only is the state-owned water provider owed more than K44 million by its  customers in the National Capital District but its water treatment plant at Mt Eriama and sewerage treatment facility at the Waigani Swamp need urgent upgrading and rehabilitation as they are operating at  almost full capacity.

Chief executive officer Henry Mokono is a worried man who believes the capital city is sitting on a time bomb. “The demand for our services, water and sewerage, is so big.”

Insofar as water supply is concerned, Mokono says the answer lies in a proposed new K300 million water treatment plant. “I’ve appealed to the Government, through our minister, that we need to move fast on this one, we need to deliver a new water treatment plant at Mt Eriama.”

Eda Ranu is proposing a new treatment plant that can deliver 30 to 50 million mega litres to support the city’s current demand of 174 million mega litres.

As for sewerage, Mokono says the waste problem is reaching crisis proportions at the Waigani Swamp, which needs to be rehabilitated at a cost of K50m.

Whether the O’Neill Government will respond favourably to Eda Ranu’s appeal for funds to build a new water treatment plant and rehabilitate the waste treatment facility remains to be seen.

However, time is of the essence and Mokono believes that Eda Ranu must deliver these new projects within the next two to three years. “We can’t sit back and wait for the time bomb to explode.”

It would be wise of the Government and the relevant ministers to take heed of Mokono’s advice

With the national elections two years away followed by the 2018 APEC Leaders’ Summit, it is in the interests of the ruling coalition parties to support Eda Ranu’s plan to upgrade and boost the capital city’s water supply and sewerage treatment capacities.

For a start, the Government should put pressure on those departments and state entities that owe Eda Ranu K21 million in unpaid bills. While the total outstanding bill of more than K44m is not sufficient even to rehabilitate the Waigani Swamp sewerage facility, at least that’s money in the bank for Eda Ranu if most of it is collected.

This is the first time the water provider has been under intense pressure.

Last year Eda Ranu revealed that 95 million mega litres of precious water – more than half the quantity supplied to the city of Port Moresby – was unaccounted for. In other words, that water which has cost money to treat and reticulate has ended up earning nil return for the state-owned entity.

Nonetheless, Eda Ranu continued to supplying the capital city and earned its revenue from only half the water it supplied.

The source of the wastage is, according to Eda Ranu officials, was illegal connections or deliberate tampering and breaking of water pipes.

Much of the illegal connection and stealing seems to be happening in settlement areas and some residential premises.

Apart from wastage from illegal connections and broken pipes, ratepayers are at times negligent and contribute to water going to waste. 

A dripping tap in a home or office may seem negligible but overnight this can be a bucketful so all leaking taps ought to be fixed.  

Eda Ranu continues to urge home owners to use buckets and not hoses to wash and clean around their homes, especially during the dry season.

The city’s water and electricity are from the same source and both are affected by any drastic drop in the level of water at the Sirinumu Dam on the Sogeri Plateau in Central.

During the dry spell city residents were warned and urged to help conserve water but many continue to ignore these water-saving instructions and use water as if there is no tomorrow.

Eda Ranu is now facing an even greater crisis and city residents, especially those who owe money to the water provider in unpaid bills, should do the right thing and pay up.

By doing so, they will enable the precious liquid to continue to flow smoothly to all city homes and premises without unnecessary disruptions and delays.