Prayers answered as villages get treated water

Families in Vailele, Saleaumua and Magiagi, who have been living without clean and treated water for many years, have finally had their prayers answered.

The Samoa Water Authority (S.W.A) opened three major water projects on Thursday in these villages as part of the Government’s drive ensure all Samoans have access to clean, treated and reliable water.

Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, attended the launch of the project.

The Village mayor of Magiagi, Luafau Lei’a T. Aima’asu, said they welcome the opportunity for families to have access to clean treated water.

“In this village, we have a history of various types of illnesses attacking our families," he said.

"When it rains, the water gets really dirty and the majority of the financially unstable families struggle to look for clean water especially for their children during rainy seasons.

“But today, we express our sincere thanks to the Government for answering our prayers which we for three years have yearned and requested for.”

Magiagi residents have never  had access to metered water until now. To ensure all families follow the Government’s mandate of using reliable water, they have been given until the end of next month to get connected to the system.

Attempts to get a comment from village leaders of Saleaumua and Vailele were unsuccessful but Samoa Observer understands that they have the similar experience as the residents of Magiagi.

The total cost of the project at Magiagi is $1.6 million and was funded by EU Budget Support.

The project includes pipeline installation, installation of booster pump, tank construction and the supply of materials.

The project at Saleaumua include drilling of the borehole by the Samoa Water Authority (funded by the World Bank at the cost of $701,052.53); Tank construction constructed by Bluebird Construction (funded by the World Bank at the cost of $144,997.75); materials supplied from Pioneer Australia ($126,388.23) ; and pipeline installation by King Construction (funded by the World Bank at the cost of $1.2 million); materials supplied from Tubemakers Fiji at the cost of $491,518.61).
 The total cost of the project is $2.7 million.

For the project at Vailele, the Phase 4 of the Pipeline Installation at Vailele brings the total cost of this project to $527,524.59, Phase 1 in 2013 saw the building of the Treatment Plant and the installation of pipelines; Phase 2 in 2015 was installing of pipelines (5.8km) by SWA Urban Operations, and Phase 3, the installation of another 5.4 kilometers of pipelines by King Construction.
During the Prime Ministers’ speech at the opening, he encouraged the village councils to continue working together with Government in pursing developments to enhance the health and livelihoods of the people.
 “Together with the village councils, our community, and with the support of international funding, we are continuing to replace old pipes, utilize new technology and extend our network to benefit more people and our economy.”