Port Moresby to face water rationing from Friday night

Water will be shut down from Friday night into Saturday in Port Moresby, with residents expected to face up to 17 hours of water rationing.

In a statement released this afternoon, Water PNG CEO, James Young says the shutdown will begin at 10pm on Friday, May 1, and supply is expected to return by 3 pm on Saturday.

The interruption is due to a major leak in the Rouna pipeline, which supplies about half of the city’s water.

Mr Young said the pipeline has suffered a serious break and must be repaired urgently to avoid a bigger failure.

“This will mean about 17 hours of water rationing as half of the water supply is shut down for repairs."

He explained that once the pipeline is closed, it will take several hours to drain before repair work can begin. Engineers will then dig up the damaged section and fix it by welding and sealing the broken part.

Mr Young said the pipeline is very old, built in 1962, and is now past its working life.

He also warned that repairs could take longer depending on how serious the damage is once the pipe is uncovered.

“We will not know the full extent of the damage until we dig down to the pipe,” he said.

Mr Young apologised for the inconvenience and urged residents to prepare early.

He advised people to store water before Friday night, including drinking water and extra water for cooking and cleaning.

Water PNG says it is working to replace old infrastructure, but this will take time and funding.

The rationing will be managed to ensure fair distribution of water across the city during the shutdown period.