By Charlotte Shipman
The New Zealand Defence Force has saved a tiny Pacific nation from running out of drinking water.
Tuvalu's 10,500 people are now drinking water from a desalination plant delivered by a New Zealand aircraft.
It has become a daily ritual. For two hours every morning water stations across Tuvalu's main island are open to collect fresh water.
Each household is allowed 40 litres. Water monitor Charles Leepo tries to make sure everyone gets their fair share but knows precious litres get stolen.
“It happens a lot, they are desperate for water,” says Mr Leepo.
Major concern is to keep away disease, especially from the vunerable. Resident Sala Tepau says they save water for the “little ones”, for them to wash in.
Yesterday the hospital ran out of water and now the New Zealand Army is responsible for making sure it gets 2000 litres a day.
The Tuvaluan government admits it reacted too slowly to the crisis which had been coming for months.
Disaster committee chairperson Pusineli La’afai says they should have acted earlier, “we were complacent”.
New Zealand’s desalination unit provides welcome relief and vital water reserves but it is only temporary; the purifier will leave the atoll in three weeks.
The defence team is looking at working with the Tuvalua government to find ways of collecting and storing rainwater more efficiently. But even that will have to be a long term plan because significant rainfall is not expected until January.
3 News