High turbidity forces Solomon Water to turn off Kongulai Supply
Quoting the Solomon Times on Line – 29 October 2019
Over the weekend Solomon Water turned off its Kongulai Pump Station and Gravity Supply system, which supplies about 40% of its customers in Honiara.
“This caused many Honiara residences to be without water for more than 48 hours. The shutdown was due to the high turbidity (silt and dirt particles in the water) experienced upstream due to heavy rains at our Kongulai water source.
“Solomon Water Acting Chief Executive Officer, Unni Kesavan said “the action to turn off supply was necessary to ensure that water distributed to our customers is safe and of good quality. During wet weather water is unsafe for distribution. If we continue producing water during this time the disinfection process cannot kill any bacteria, making it potentially unsafe and posing a health risk to customers. It will also clog pipes and customers’ facilities.”
“This shutdown is a direct consequence of ongoing illegal and unmanaged logging in the Kohove and Kongulai catchment areas, and is outside of Solomon Water’s control. Solomon Water is working on the construction of a new treatment plant for Kongulai. The plant is currently in design stage and will be operational in 2021.”
Copyright @ 2019, Solomon Times on Line.
