Water PNG announced that it had lost about 7 million liters of raw water per day due to vandalism on its water assets in NCD, which had caused a water disruption for city residents in some parts of Port Moresby over the weekend.
In a public notice, the Management of Water PNG Limited stated that an attempt to carry out an illegal connection, by unknown persons, damaged the raw water main at Rouna 1/3 that supply more than half the raw water to the Water Treatment Plan.
This then impacted the production and supply of treated water to Port Moresby city.
Water PNG said repairs to the main required a complete shut-down of the raw water supply from this particular pipe, resulting in some areas in the city facing intermittent or no water supply at all during the period of repair.
Water PNG started the repair work at 10am Friday, May 17th, and continued to Saturday, May 18th, while at the same time urging water users to store sufficient water needed during the period of repair work.
Meanwhile, Water PNG says vandalizing water supply infrastructure and or tampering with water assets for any reason, including to make illegal connections, are in breach of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Act 2016 and carry significant fines.
Water PNG further warns that those caught engaging in these activities will be fined and referred to law enforcement authorities for prosecution under criminal laws.