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Mobilising community-led water supply, sanitation
and hygiene improvements in Fijian villages
Chris C. Tanner, Principal Scientist and Rebecca Stott, Environmental Health Microbiologist, National Institute for
Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton; Andrew Dakers, Principal Engineer, ecoEng Ltd, Christchurch;
Ann Winstanley, Social Scientist, Creative Questions, Christchurch, New Zealand;
Viliame Jeke, Project Engineer, JekoEng Ltd, Korolevu; Semisi Meo, Researcher, Institute of Applied Sciences,
University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
V
illages (koro) and settlements in rural and coastal
areas of Fiji are gaining increased access to piped
household water supplies and adopting the use of
flush toilets. Inadequate systems for managing the resultant
wastewater flows are a frequent cause of localized contami-
nation and pollution of streams and rivers used for water
supply, bathing, laundry and recreation, and nearby lagoons
and beaches. Thus, apparent improvements in water supply
and toilet facilities are unwittingly leading to increased health
risks. The WASH Koro project is developing and demon-
strating a range of sustainable community water supply and
on-site wastewater treatment solutions for Fijian villages that
protect public health and reduce contaminant loadings to
surface and coastal waters. Social, scientific and engineering
approaches have been integrated with local and indigenous
knowledge, resources and construction techniques to engage
the local community and build capacity at village level.
Water and sanitation in Fiji
Fiji is an archipelago of 332 tropical islands in the South
Pacific, about 1,770km north of New Zealand. It has a popu-
lation approaching 0.9m, of which about 85% live on the two
main islands. Heavy rains (up to 3m or more annually) fall
on the windward southeastern side of these mountainous
islands, while the leeward north and western sides experi-
ences annual rainfall of about 1.7m with distinct wet and
dry seasons. This means that, except for seasonal periods of
drought, the main islands are comparatively well endowed
with freshwater resources.
About 46% of the Fijian population lives in rural villages
and settlements, with indigenous iTaukei (predominantly
Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture) comprising about
57% of the population. Traditional villages or koro are
commonly sited near the coast or along inland rivers and
streams. Tourist resorts along the coast provide jobs and
income to supplement livelihoods based largely around agri-
culture, fishing and forestry.
According to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
(JMP) statistics for 2015, approximately 91% of the rural
population of Fiji has an improved drinking water source
and about 88% has access to improved sanitation facili-
ties. This makes Fiji one of the few small island developing
states (SIDS) in Oceania to have apparently achieved the
Millennium Development Goals, placing it well ahead of
other small island nations in Oceania, which report that,
collectively, only 56% and 34% have access to improved
water and sanitation facilities, respectively.
However, work over the last ten years in Fijian villages
along the Coral Coast of Viti Levu, one of the more devel-
oped rural areas of the largest island, suggests that the
WHO/UNICEF JMP estimates for rural areas are optimistic
compared to on-the-ground reality. In particular, they fail
to identify significant quantity and quality aspects of water
supply and sanitation infrastructure and associated manage-
ment, and the extent of associated water-related health and
pollution issues.
Rural water supplies are most commonly from surface-
water sources which are often compromised by catchment
disturbances including cropping, farmed and feral animals,
and forest harvest. Both continuity of service and quality of
these water sources are vulnerable to impacts from heavy
rainstorms and episodic cyclones or hurricanes, exacer-
bated by climate changes. Little or no treatment of such
waters usually occurs. Some villages have access to wells
or bores, and supplementary roof water harvesting has also
been promoted in recent years. Overall, the capacity of water
supplies to deliver water to villages is gradually increasing
across the country, with many villages transitioning from
communal standpipes to individually piped supplies to
households. This commonly leads to installation of flush
toilets and showers, and use of washing machines, creating
a significant wastewater flow that needs management.
Lack of adequate wastewater management facilities, beyond
small capacity septic tanks for blackwater, results in rapid
clogging of soakage pits, particularly in the heavy clay soils
common beyond the narrow coastal fringe of coral sands.
This can lead to significant localized contamination and
pollution of streams, rivers, lagoons and beaches used for
bathing, laundry and recreation by villagers and tourists. Such
wastewater impacts are exacerbated by leaking taps and toilet
cisterns, poor septic tank construction practices and a general
lack of maintenance, with most septic tanks operating while