Auditor General's report from 2023 flagged major contamination issues in Fuvahmulah water system

The Auditor General's Office (AGO) had previously highlighted major issues within the water and sewerage system installed in Fuvahmulah City. As the contamination of the water supply provided by Fenaka has become a major crisis today, the performance audit report published in 2023 reveals critical issues that needed resolution. The report was publicized at the time, and relevant parties were instructed to rectify the problems.

The performance audit, released in July 2023, was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the system established to solve Fuvahmulah's water and sewerage issues. The report stated that the quality of water supplied by the city's water system was very poor even then.

According to the report:

"...Therefore, this office has instructed Fenaka Corporation and all relevant authorities to take immediate action regarding this matter," the two-year-old audit report stated.

The report also noted that when the Audit Office instructed Fenaka to test the water in 2022, Fenaka's tests did not include checks for Coliform levels. Furthermore, even though issues with the Fuvahmulah water system were reported to the Regulatory Authority at the time, the Authority failed to take any action.

The AGO report specifically highlighted the issue of inadequate residual chlorine, citing the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Principles and Practices of Drinking Water Chlorination," which states that an adequate level of residual chlorine is essential to prevent contamination during storage and supply.

"...However, we note that the chlorine level in the water produced and supplied by the water system established in Fuvahmulah City was 0.02 mg per liter, which is less than the national and international standard for residual chlorine specified in the table below," stated the performance audit report on Fuvahmulah's water and sewerage system.

The Audit Office noted that even though reports sent to the Utility Regulatory Authority showed that the residual chlorine was below the required standard, the Authority did not take any action.

"...We note that the lack of residual chlorine in the supplied water is a cause for contamination."

Citing Fenaka Corporation, the audit report noted that 70% of the water produced by Fuvahmulah's water system was leaking into the ground. Although efforts were made to improve this, the ratio was only reduced to 44% by 2019.

"...Thus, during the period from January 2021 to February 2022, 125,767 cubic meters of water were produced, of which 45,797 cubic meters were billed. Therefore, we note that 79,856 cubic meters (79,856,961 liters) of water leaked, resulting in a non-billed financial loss of MVR 4,132,146 to Fenaka," the report detailed.

The AGO report warned that this extensive leakage not only caused financial losses to Fenaka but also posed a risk of contaminating the water supply in Fuvahmulah. Since the water pipes are buried underground, there is a risk of germs entering the system through leakage areas.

"As the water system pipes are buried underground, failure to detect leaks for long periods poses a risk of germs entering the water system through the leakage areas," the audit report concluded.

The report also mentioned similar major issues existed within the Fuvahmulah sewerage system.

The recent crisis led to the Fuvahmulah City Council shutting down the water supply across the city last Monday to clean the water network due to the contamination. Although the supply was restored by noon yesterday, the Council has urged residents not to use the water until sample results are received to confirm its safety.