On April 30th, 2024, the village of Lalnetak located on the eastern side of Vanua Lava Island in TORBA got to witness the launching of the community’s first ever water supply system. The water supply system is an Indirect Solar Pump system where water is transported from a pump chamber powered by solar arrays to a tank and then distributed to 12 water tap stands installed throughout the village supplying water to 22 households. Water source is a runoff stream with sufficient yield to sustain water required by the community for their domestic needs.
The system was proudly launched by the TORBA Provincial President, Mr Edgar Howard, in the presence of the Lalnetak Community, Chiefs of surrounding villages, representatives from the Department of Water Resources (DoWR) and the Utilities Regulatory Authority (URA).
The construction works of the water supply system commenced on the 16th of March 2024 after three months of planning and material procurement prior to building the water system and commissioning of the water system.
The project was facilitated by the URA with funding solicited through the charitable arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). The URA had also sought the support of DoWR in the design phase of the project. The water system was built with technical support from a private consultant from the Santo Discoveries Company who was engaged by the URA with manpower during the building phase of the project provided by the Lalnetak community and surrounding villages.
The overall intention of the URA to undertake the project is to promote access of water to rural communities in line with Objective 5 of its Strategic and Action Plan 2022-2026.
After numerous concerns raised by communities across Vanuatu with regards to sustainability of community water supply systems the URA Commission decided that it was better to facilitate actual design and implementation of a community water system to identify key system components that can be strengthened to promote sustainability. These components include a reasonable pricing mechanism and a proper management model. These components promote affordability, sustainability, and accountability.
The Authority aided in setting up the Lalnetak Water Committee as the operator of the water system and is therefore issuing to Lalnetak Water Committee a fixed Operations and Maintenance (O&M) fee to be charged to each household every quarter (that is every three months) at 1515vt/household. The tariff is to cover for operational costs of the system. Lalnetak Water Committee will start collecting fees from households in July 2024. The charge applied will be reviewed after 12 months from July 2024.
Knowledge and experience gained by the URA during the implementation stage of the water supply system will inform the regulatory approach going forward with respect to rural community water supply systems. The completed water system will also be referred to when collaborating with the Government in achieving the NSDP goals relating to promoting access to sustainable potable water systems.