Village Water Committee Members Complete Plumbing Short Course Funded by European Union

The Samoa Independent Water Schemes Association (SIWSA) in collaboration with the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) offered short courses on plumbing for representatives of village water committees.

The 12 day training was funded by the European Union (EU) water management project which aims to encourage the village water committees to take ownership of the management and maintenance of their water networks.

The coursework covered health and safety requirements, using plumbing hand and power tools, fabricating and installing non-ferrous pressure piping, installing and adjusting water service controls and devices, and installation of storage tanks to a domestic water supply.

The Head of Economic Cooperation, Investment and Agriculture Sector at the Delegation of the European Union for the Pacific, Ms. Barbara Riksen said, “The European Union is proud to be working together with Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) and to provide plumbing courses for the eighteen communities”.

“Through this training, the trained plumbers will be able to keep the plumbing system well maintained and functional, to remove liquid wastes efficiently, and to minimize risk of failure of the system through vigilance and quality assurance,” said Ms Riksen.

“This will ensure the supply safe drinking water in adequate quantities..

“We congratulate the plumbers with their successful participation in the plumbing training course and many congratulations to the only female graduate today; you are an inspiration to many around you”.

There were 13 participants from six IWS communities, namely Maasina, Lona, Laulii, Luatuanuu, Falevao and Saoluafata. So far, this is the third cohort that had completed their plumbing training under this initiative by the SIWSA.

Clarissa Laulala, the SIWSA Program Manager said a total of 18 Independent Water Schemes (IWS) have benefitted from the three plumbing short
courses.

“The plumbing courses have  complemented other initiatives offered under this project such as the development of drinking water safety plans for all IWSs, the pilot of 10 UV Filter Kiosks for communities’ drinking water and the pilot of water meters at an IWS to promote water management and conservation..

“It is important that those responsible for the operations and management of their network systems be upskilled for the sustainability of the initiatives offered under this project..

“Once again we thank the European Union for the continuous support offered to our vulnerable
communities” said Ms Laulala.

Following this event, on Tuesday 23rd November, 2021, under the same project, the IWSA will be
launching its final Ultra Violet Filtration System Kiosk in the village of Salailua in the big island of Savaii.

This is the 10th Kiosk to be installed in Samoa and in total, these UV Kiosks will benefit a
population of more than six thousand people in the IWS communities.

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