Aunuu residents are exempt from paying water bills

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Aunu’u residents have been exempted from paying their water bills, while the American Samoa Power Authority works on addressing the “high salinity issue” on the island-village where ASPA is supplying cases of water — free of charge — to the school and households, according to ASPA acting executive director Wallon Young.

In September this year, a government employee who lives in Aunu’u told Samoa News that taking a shower using ASPA water is like swimming in the ocean, as the water is salty and using soap is a waste, as there are no soap-suds.  And the “water problem has gotten worse,” the resident claimed.

Over the last few days, Samoa News received concerns raised by other Aunu’u residents regarding the status of ASPA water there, claiming the “water is salty.” According to the residents, over the past months, Aunu’u has been exempted from paying any ASPA water bills, due to salty water in their homes. Additionally, residents are provided cases of water each week “until ASPA is able to install a reverse osmosis system for Aunu'u”.

Residents claimed that after using ASPA water, they are faced with “itchy skin, rash, and dryness. It feels as if you just got done swimming in the ocean.”

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Young explained last Thursday that the Aunu’u water system is “designed as a gallery system” that operates similar to dug wells Aunu’u residents use for drinking. He said water is collected through two 100-ft-long perforated water pipes that skim water off the thin Aunuu freshwater lens into a sealed manhole.

“This water is then pumped up to a water storage tank on the hillside to supply water to the community,” he said, adding that the water system was installed back in the 1980s and it relies heavily on rainfall to reduce the "saltiness in the water”.

“On average,” he said, “Aunu'u receives 20% less rainfall than Tutuila. During low rainfall, the salinity in the water increases due to saltwater intrusion.”

“Due to the high salinity issue, ASPA installed a small Reverse Osmosis unit at its office in Aunuu to provide the Aunuu residents with potable drinking water, similar to bottled water,” Young explained. “This has been in operation for several years and was made available to Aunuu residents free of charge.”

In an effort to further resolve the high salinity issue, he explained that ASPA installed a larger Reverse Osmosis machine in Aunuu in 2016 and connected the output to Aunu’u's water distribution system.

The Reverse Osmosis  Unit was operating satisfactorily until it failed earlier this year, he said. And ordering parts for the repair of the old Reverse Osmosis machine became challenging as the company who manufactures the unit no longer supplies parts for the machine.

“A new machine was necessary.” he said.

Asked how ASPA plans to fix the water problem and when it will be addressed, Young said ASPA had ordered and is awaiting delivery of a new Reverse Osmosis unit for Aunuu. “The new $100,000 machine is scheduled to arrive in February and will be installed without delay,” he said.

He also confirmed that ASPA is providing 100 cases of bottled water each week, at no cost, to Aunuu residents as well as cases of free water to the A.P. Lutali Elementary School. He further confirmed that Aunuu residents have been exempted from paying their water bills until the new Reverse Osmosis unit is in operation.

An Aunu’u resident said the cases of water are delivered on Fridays.

A mother, also an Aunu’u resident, told Samoa News that  every time her children bathe in a tub, the next day they have “a fever, headache, and diarrhea.” The resident claims the water has “done more damage to our homes than good.”

When asked for comments, Young responded, “This claim is questionable and it is the only such claim that ASPA received from a lady who has been trying to avoid paying her overdue utility bills going back five months.”

He explained that ASPA water is treated and is regularly and independently tested by the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency and “there has been no positive hits on ASPA water in Aunuu for many years now.”

“Also, to put things into perspective, the Aunuu water from ASPA's water system is nowhere near as salty as seawater. Seawater salinity is 35 ptu (practical salinity units), Aunuu water salinity ranges from 0.3 to 6.0 ptu. ASPA has not received any other reports of residents getting sick due to their use of ASPA water,” he pointed out. “ASPA is working diligently to resolve the problem and expresses appreciation to Aunuu residents for their patience and understanding.”

Contact the ASPA customer service team at 699-1234 for more information.