PORT MORESBY WATER SUPPLY TO FACE WEEKEND SHUTDOWN FOR REPAIRS
WATER PNG Limited CEO James Young has confirmed that a partial shutdown of Port Moresby’s water supply will take place from 10pm Friday, 31 July to 3am Sunday, 2 August to carry out critical repairs on the Rouna 1/3 pipeline.
Originally expected to last more than a week, the outage has been reduced to 29 hours after extensive preparation, including acquiring specialist materials and conducting hydraulic modelling. Young noted that while the delay meant the city lost 10 million litres of water daily due to leaks, it allowed engineers to minimize disruption during the repair.
Key measures include:
- Replacement of air and scour valves
- Installation of automated flow monitoring
- Securing specialist couplings and pipe materials from overseas
- Ensuring continued raw water flow into Mt Eriama Water Treatment Plant via Rouna 4
The shutdown will cut supply from 100 million litres per day to 80 million litres, with priority given to residential areas.
The downtown area will face the longest outage, but Young emphasized that hotels and households there have greater capacity to store water.
He stressed transparency and community cooperation, saying: “We are all in this together as we repair and maintain this vital public infrastructure.”
Water PNG said, while each of the schedule zones has water supply at the allotted times, the other zones will be without supply so forward-planning is essential for residents and businesses.
Water supply during the rationing period will be provided as follows – water is available: 10PM Friday 31 July to 3am Saturday 1 August (Zone 4) Bomana, Marienville, Graceville, Maiolo Estate, Mendoza, Skyview, ATW, 2G, Laloki, MacGregor Barracks, Bio Farming, Kennedy Estate, Moitaka Power Plant, Brian Bell Home Centre, MVIL, Parliament House, Waigani National Court House, NZ High Commission, Nilkare St, Royal Golf Course, Morauta House, Telikom Rumana, Bowl Restaurant, TISA Building, Bishop Brothers, Boroko Motors, Ela Motors, The National Newspaper, Theodist, North Lake Estate.
3AM to 11AM on Saturday 1 August (Zone 1) Gerehu Stage 1-7, Rainbow, POMNAT, NRI, UPNG Main Campus, Red Sea Housing, EWT, Atlas Steel, PNG Ports, Curtain Brothers, Pacific Towing, Ensisi Valley, Tokarara, June Valley, North Waigani, Fourth Banner, Waigani Heights, Burns Peak, Lower Murray Barracks, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Lamana, Laguna, Dream Inn, Games Village, NCDC, VC, Rangeview, Savannah Heights, Stanley Hotel, Lakeside Housing Estate. 11AM to
7PM on Saturday 1 August (Zone 2) Boroko Drive, Gordon Industrial, 5 Mile, NBC, Erima, 6 & 7 Mile, Gateway, Airways, Airport, East Boroko, Korobosea, Waigani SNS, Hasting Deering, Waigani/Gordons Industrial -Gabaka St, Goroa St, Koani St, Soare St, Varahe Rd, Ahuia St, Manu, Taurama Barracks, Angau Drive, Bisini Parade, Caritas, Toea Homes, Mahuru, Kira Kira, Sabama, Pari Village.
7PM Saturday 1 August to 3AM Sunday August 2 (Zone 3) 3 Mile, PX Village, Korobosea Drive, SVS, Murray Barracks, 4 Mile Boroko, Naslund, NCDC Depot, Works HQ, Seoul Restaurant, Garden Hills, Badili, Konedobu, Post Courier, Police HQ, Aviat Club, Lawes Rd, Port Road, Government House, Waterfront, Harbour City, ldubada, Kanudi, Town, Ela Beach Hotel, Touaguba, Airvos Av, Crown Hotel, Grand Papua Hotel, Paga Hill, Town CBC, IRC, Alibi, Ela Beach Tower.
CEO Young now urged all Port Moresby resident, regardless of where they live or work, to store as much water safely in containers as is possible before the rationing period. This is important for drinking and cooking, and for flushing toilets.
When water is rationed to your area be sure to top up containers for the remaining period of outage.
