MWSC plans to build a backup water system

The freshwater problem in the Maldives is no secret to anyone who has lived in this country or visited local islands. Even prior to the 2004 tsunami, the availability of fresh groundwater was very limited in the Maldives, however, following the tsunami several local islands lost their fresh waterline as it turned salty. 

Following the tsunami, several islands of the Maldives received fresh water tanks in order to curb a water-crisis arising. In addition to providing tanks to households in order to help collect rainwater, efforts were put into installing rainwater systems, tanks and piping to 41,000 houses across 195 islands as the water line damage in different islands were at different levels.

Some islands such as Male’ city had the waterline turn completely salty, and not usable even months after the tsunami. Although there are still plans to build a water system for the nearby islands since the tsunami, by 2022 a greater demand for a backup water system that can store water for a few days in case of an emergency due to Male' City's dense population has also risen. 

With a majority of the people moving to and from Male’ city for various reasons, the current water system that only has the capacity to hold water for a single day is like waiting for a crisis to arise.

In order to resolve the storage issues and any other complications that may arise from the current water system, MWSC has announced that the company has plans to build a backup water storage system that can hold enough water for five days.

With the discussions already underway regarding the backup water storage system, MWSC has also revealed that the company is currently awaiting confirmation on the land plot to build the system.

The company is currently aiming to build the system on a plot of land previously used by the State Trading Organisation (STO) to mix concrete.