Safer sanitation for Savusavu: surveys help identify what should be delivered first
Savusavu has been discussing the need for better wastewater and sewerage services for many years. Under the Na Vualiku Project, there are actually resources to start turning those aspirations into reality, including pilot infrastructure planned under Phase One.
Savusavu currently relies largely on onsite sanitation systems such as septic tanks and pits rather than a public reticulated sewerage system. As the town grows, the challenge is not simply whether sanitation needs to improve, but where the most urgent service gaps are, what solutions are practical, and which investments should come first.
A two-week field program from 31 August to 12 September 2026 is gathering evidence from households, businesses and institutions across Savusavu and surrounding communities to help answer those questions.
Household, business and institutional surveys now underway through the Na Vualiku Project are helping to determine which improvements should be prioritised and how future investment should be sequenced towards delivery.
A total of 300 structured interviews are planned, comprising:
- 260 household surveys, including 60 in the urban core, 90 in the peri-urban growth corridor and 110 in representative rural communities; and
- 40 non-residential surveys covering businesses, tourism facilities, schools, healthcare facilities, public institutions and other significant users.
Building on earlier work
The need for better wastewater and sewerage services in Savusavu is not new.
Earlier Government planning and technical work and community discussions led by the Water Authority of Fiji have identified sanitation as an important infrastructure need for the growing town.
The current work is therefore not starting from scratch. It is building on earlier information and local knowledge while gathering the current household, business, technical, environmental and social evidence needed to determine a practical investment pathway.
The objective is to move beyond identifying the problem to answering the next questions: what should be improved first, what should follow, and what needs to be prepared so agreed priorities can move towards implementation.
Preparing the field teams
Before wider household surveying began, enumerators and volunteers completed field training on Tuesday, 1 September.
The training covered survey tools, household engagement procedures and field protocols to support consistent information gathering across different communities.
The survey was then tested in the field on Wednesday, 2 September, through a pilot involving households in Jerusalemi, Savudrodro, the Savarekareka Church Compound and Lomanibai Settlement.
The pilot allowed the team to test the survey in real household settings and refine field procedures before expanding across the wider study area.
What the surveys will help determine
The surveys will build a clearer picture of how sanitation currently works across different parts of Savusavu, including existing facilities, wastewater and faecal-sludge management practices, emptying arrangements and costs, household experiences and service gaps.
They will also help identify environmental and public health risks and understand what residents, businesses and institutions need from future sanitation services. This evidence will feed directly into the Savusavu Participatory Sanitation Master Plan.
There is no pre-determined final solution.
The work is examining the complete sanitation service chain, from household containment and collection through to transport, treatment and safe disposal. Future improvements could therefore involve a staged combination of improved onsite sanitation, faecal-sludge collection and treatment, sewerage networks, pumping infrastructure and wastewater treatment facilities, depending on what the technical, environmental, social, land and financial evidence shows.
Strengthening local relationships
The field program is also strengthening engagement with communities and institutions whose knowledge will help shape practical infrastructure options. On Thursday, 3 September, Savarekareka community leaders participated in an information session on solid waste management at the Na Vualiku Project Office, facilitated by GHD Solid Waste Management Consultant.
Sanitation and solid waste management are separate workstreams, but coordinated engagement can help Government understand local conditions, land considerations and community concerns while reducing unnecessary repetition for communities involved in both processes.
Engagement with a community, institution or landowner does not mean that a particular infrastructure site has been selected. Potential locations and infrastructure options must still be assessed against technical requirements, land availability, environmental and social safeguards, climate resilience, operating requirements, costs and Government approvals.
Photo – Enumerator training Enumerators and volunteers prepare for the Savusavu household survey through field training on survey procedures, community engagement and data collection.
What happens after the surveys?
The survey results will form part of the assessment of existing sanitation conditions across Savusavu. That evidence will then be used to develop and compare different sanitation service options, including their infrastructure requirements, costs, environmental and social implications, land needs and long-term operating arrangements.
Government and stakeholders will review those options before a preferred sanitation pathway and priority investments are confirmed.
Agreed priority investments can then move through technical design, environmental and social assessment, land requirements and bidding-document preparation, creating a clearer pathway towards procurement, infrastructure delivery and improved sanitation services.
Photos –
Pilot survey: Putting the survey into practice. A field pilot across selected households in Jerusalemi, Savudrodro, Savarekareka and Lomanibai helped test and refine the survey before wider fieldwork began.
Savarekareka engagement: Building the local relationships needed for better services. Savarekareka community leaders joined an information session on solid waste management as coordinated engagement continues across infrastructure and essential-services work in Savusavu.
Household survey: Household evidence will help determine what Savusavu’s future sanitation service should look like and which investments should be prioritised first.
🏠 Household evidence → ✅ preferred solution → 💰 priority investment → 🏗️ infrastructure delivery
