This three year collaborative NZaid project is working with coastal Fijian villagers at Votua on the Coral Coast of Viti Levu to develop pragmatic water supply and waste treatment solutions to protect public health and reduce contamination of coastal waters.

The Problem

Deteriorating water quality along the Coral Coast in Fiji is causing a range of environmental health problems and threatening the livelihoods of villagers. Expanding tourism, bringing immigration and rapid population growth in Fijian villages is causing increased levels of faecal bacteria, excess nitrogen, and overfishing. This is impacting on the health and sustainability of the lagoons and the fringing reef. The water supply system is also poorly designed and unreliable.

The village needed a water system that supplies safe water and which treated effluent to an advanced level, but that was cheap and practical for villagers to operate and maintain in an island environment. The livelihoods of the communities living along the coast and the sustainability of the local tourist industry are at stake.

The Solution

The project addressed the water supply, sanitation, human health and hygiene, and environmental protection needs in coastal village of around 350 people using a participatory approach.

The team worked very closely with the villagers to come up with a waste treatment system which would integrate with the infrastructure already in the village, be simple for them to operate, and for easier other villages to copy and learn from. It was critical to the project’s success that the solutions were embedded into the community in such a way that ongoing costs and maintenance requirements were low and achievable.

Water quality was monitored, with the help of the local population, to identify contaminant sources and assess health and environmental risks. As part of this, people were also asked to photograph what they considered to be “healthy” and “unhealthy” parts of the village, and discuss this at workshops to create local engagement with the issues.

A new water supply and reticulation system was designed and built in the village. This used surface water with a new intake filter and settling tanks, fed into a new village ring main, supplemented by rainwater collection. Water meters were also used to monitor water usage and black and grey water generation in the village.

The new wastewater system separates black water (toilet waste) from the grey water generated through household activities. Black water carries most of the pathogens and excess nutrients but comprises only 20% of the total village effluent. Black water from the village is treated in septic tanks linked to a wetland treatment system built in the valley behind the village where there is available land, and low permeability clay soils to seal the base. This system also supports the commercial growing of Bird of Paradise flowers. The disposal of grey water uses coconut husk pre-filters followed by soil and sand infiltration.

The Result

The water supply in the village was greatly improved by the new ring main and intake systems. The community participation in identify health risks and monitoring water quality led to greater awareness of the high level of illnesses from water borne diseases and the situations that were leading to them. This also promoted the understanding that poor water quality is a result of the activities of the village, and that river water near the village is not safe for drinking or playing. Inhabitants of the village became more interested in taking responsibility for environmental management, and better hygiene practices.

The wastewater capacity of the village has also been increase in a way which is sustainable in relation to the local economy and environment, and that will be an achievable example for many other villages along the coast.

Partners and Funders

The project involves three NZ agencies, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), ESR (Environmental Science and Research), and Christchurch consultancy ecoEng Ltd working in close collaboration with the Institute of Applied Sciences at the University of the South Pacific. It is funded via The Ministry of Research Science and Technology through the NZAid Overseas Development Assistance Contestable Fund.