Solomon Water (SW) today gathered with officials from the Solomon Islands Government, the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, the wider business community and Kongulai residents for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of SW’s new water treatment plant. The plant, which will be located at Solomon Water’s Kongulai Pumping Station, is expected to greatly improve the quality and reliability of the Honiara's water supply.

Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification Daniel Rove led the inauguration ceremony and was joined by ADB Solomon Islands Country Office Unit Head Elmar Elbling, World Bank Acting Resident Representative for Solomon Islands Lodewijk Smets, other development partners and SW stakeholders.

"This is a significant milestone for Solomon Water and for the residents of Honiara," said Mr. Gooden, Chief Executive for Solomon Water. "We are thrilled to be able to soon provide Honiara residents with clean, safe water that they can trust. This new water treatment plant will be a valuable asset for Honiara for many years to come."

“The project will provide better access to safe water and improve sanitation in urban areas and help the government and Solomon Water address project environmental and social safeguard issues,” said Mr. Elbling. “The project will prioritize best practices for water utility institutional strengthening.”

 “This groundbreaking is an important step towards safer, more reliable water for families and businesses across Honiara. We are pleased to be supporting the government and Solomon Water in this important work that will ultimately improve the health and quality of life of communities in Solomon Islands,” said Annette Leith, World Bank Resident Representative for Solomon Islands.

The World Bank and ADB is funding the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project (UWSSSP) with the development objectives to increase access and quality of water supply and quality of sanitation services in Solomon Water service areas, and to improve the operational performance of Solomon water. A key UWSSSP development is the SBD130m Kongulai Water Treatment Plant Project.

The new facility will have the capacity to treat 15 megalitres (million litres) of water per day through the use of clarifiers and filtration. The new facility will also have raw and treated water pump stations, pipe bridges, sludge ponds and site civil works and a new rising main that will connect it with Solomon Water’s Tasahe reservoirs. These advanced treatment technologies and equipment will ensure that the water supplied to residents and businesses meets or exceeds national and international drinking water standards.

We’re with you in improving value, improving services and improving for the future - all aimed at delivering our vision of “Safe water for a healthy nation”.

International contractor, REAN PCS Joint Venture, was awarded the Kongulai Water Treatment Plant Project contract in May last year.

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The Kongulai Water Treatment Plant groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of the plant’s construction phase. Breaking ground today (from left to right), World Bank Acting Resident Representative for Solomon Islands Lodewijk Smets, ADB Solomon Islands Country Office Unit Head Elmar Elbling, MMERE Under Secretary Daniel Rove, Guadalcanal Province Premier Francis Sade, Solomon Water Board of Director Gloria Hong, Solomon Water CEO Ian Gooden, MNPDC Permanent Secretary Susan Sulu, New Zealand High Commissioner Jonathan Schwass.

Solomon Water and the Pacific Games Organising Committee are proud to announce a major Silver level sponsorship from Solomon Water to the 2023 Pacific Games, set to take place in Honiara in November.

Solomon Water Chief Executive Officer, Ian Gooden said, “The sponsorship is largely “in-kind” in terms of infrastructure design, construction and supervision as well as a provision of free water and wastewater services for the various facilities during the games period”.

Solomon Water has had to move quickly to provide water and wastewater infrastructure for the Games facilities. 

In a very short period of time, Solomon Water have designed and tendered for construction over $160m of mainly sewerage infrastructure needed to service the Games facilities and also for the construction of the Kukum Highway road project. 

The construction cost of the infrastructure is funded by the Government, Solomon Water and donors ADB and World Bank.  We are now working to try and complete all works in time for the Games in November.  

Solomon Water Board Chairman, Donald Marahare said, “We are thrilled to be able to support the Pacific Games in this way. The Pacific Games are a celebration of athleticism, culture and community, and we are honored to be a part of it."

The 2023 Pacific Games will take place from 19^th November to 2^nd December.

The Games will bring together 5000 athletes from 24 Pacific island countries and territories to compete in 24 sports in Honiara.

GOC Chief Executive Officer, Peter Stewart in acknowledging Solomon Water’s sponsorship said that it will have a significant impact on the success of this year’s Games.

"This generous support will have a significant impact on the success of the 2023 Pacific Games. We are grateful for the support of companies like Solomon Water, who understand the importance of sport in bringing people together and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle,” Mr Stewart said.

Meanwhile, Solomon Water is committed to providing safe water for our customers and to promoting healthy and active lifestyles in the Solomon Islands, and our support of the Pacific Games aligns with this mission. 

We are excited to be a part of the Pacific Games and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on our national and regional athletes, our country, and the entire Pacific region.

We're with you in improving value, improving services, and improving for the future - all aimed at delivering our vision of "Safe water for a healthy nation".

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Solomon Water announces silver sponsorship for the 2023 Pacific Games. From left to right: Solomon Water CEO Ian Gooden, Solomon Water Board Chair Donald Marahare, GOC Board Chairman Martin Rara and GOC CEO Peter Stewart.

Solomon Water would like to inform the public of the steps we are taking to address the recent issues with brackish water in the water supply in Noro, Western Province.

Upon receiving information about complaints from customers on Sunday evening, Solomon Water immediately dispatched a team to investigate the issue. We discovered a high level of electrical conductivity (EC) in the water, indicating the presence of salt water, and have identified that the cause of the brackish water was due to salt water intrusion in the water supply system during high tide.

The team's first task upon arrival was to ensure that the water supply system was cleaned of any presence of salt water, which was carried out on Monday this week. This action has led to our electrical conductivity (EC) test results now being within the World Health Organization (WHO) Drinking Water standards or guidelines.

In order to prevent any future incidents, our team is working to improve our monitoring and testing regime for EC tests, especially during king tides and high seas from low depression periods. Additionally, we have put controls in place to minimize the risk of salt water intrusion in the future. This includes temporarily shutting down our water production plant if necessary.

We are also working on finding immediate, short-term and long-term solutions to mitigate the risk posed by high seas and king tides, which could include substantial changes to our intake infrastructure.

We would like to continue to reassure our customers that we understand the importance of clean and safe drinking water and are committed to providing our customers with the highest level of service. We regret the hardship the recent brackish water issue caused for our valued customers in Noro and we appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issue.

For updates and further information, please contact our customer care services in Noro and in Honiara.

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Solomon Water would like to extend our sincerest apologies to our valued customers in Noro, Western Province for the recent issues with brackish water. We regret the inconvenience and concern this has caused and want to assure you we are taking immediate action to respond to the problem.

We are working to identify the cause of the brackish water and to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we advise customers to take all necessary precautions and avoid using the affected water for drinking, food preparation, cooking and consumption.

We understand the importance of clean and safe drinking water and Solomon Water is committed to providing our customers with the highest level of service. We will continue to work diligently to restore the water supply to its normal quality.

We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issue.

For updates and further information, please contact our customer care service in Noro or in Honiara.

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