Valves on Lautoka's Saru system have closed about 9 pm to 4 am since 25 September 2026. The zones WAF named, who to ring, and neighbours reporting dry taps.
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The Water Authority of Fiji closes valves on Lautoka's Saru system about 9 pm to 4 am so the Saru reservoir can refill overnight. It announced that on 25 September 2026, after raw-water flow into the Saru treatment plant from the Varaqe intake fell about a fifth, and said the valve operations may continue while that flow stays low. Fiji Met expects October to December to be the driest stretch of this El Niño.
Since then it has got worse rather than better, at least inland. On 21 October 2026 Narayan Reddy, president of the Lautoka Residents and Ratepayers Association, told fijivillage that residents in interior parts of Lautoka — Tavakubu and Saru among them — were going three to four days without supply, that the river many of them fall back on has dried up, and that livestock farmers had been selling animals or losing them. He asked the Government to truck water in. That is a resident account and not a WAF notice: WAF has published nothing about it, and nothing official has confirmed or contradicted it. But if your taps have been dry for days rather than overnight, that is not the valve operation described below — report it on 5777, and ask for a water cart on 1507.
WAF's own words are that the impact differs each night with reservoir levels and demand, so being on its list is not the same as losing supply tonight. No notice says which zones actually went dry last night, which is why the board below asks the people who live there.
New notices go to WAF's Facebook page, facebook.com/WaterAuthorityofFiji, before anywhere else, and the National Contact Centre on 5777 answers 24 hours. WAF's own website has carried no Lautoka notice since September 2024, so the hours below are WAF's 25 September statement, not a notice confirming tonight.
No water cuts reported right now.
Saru reservoir zone
No reports · Natabua, Navula, Field 40, Balawa, Banaras, Natokowaqa, Saru Back Rd, Vuda Back Rd, Wairabetia, Top Line, Chandmari High, Morris St, Hedstrom Pl, Ajodhya Rd, M N Naidu Rd
Kashmir reservoir zone
No reports · Bavadra Rd, S M Koya Rd, Kermode Rd, Chandmari, Tavakubu Back Rd, Eddie Wong St, Musuniwai St, Vaivai, Tawatawa, Tavakubu Village, Sukanaivalu Rd, Waiyavi Stage 5, Ganges Rd, Riley Pl
Tavakubu reservoir zone
No reports · Razak Rd, Tavakubu Rd, Waiyavi, Vomo St, Jinnu Rd, Kaunitoni Rd, Kara Punja, Cakau St, Dravuni St, Ratu Meli Rd, Adam St, Golf Link Cres, Link Rd, Maharaj Pl, Bulileke, Varamaoli
Vuda reservoir zone
No reports · Viseisei Village, Vuda Point, Dreketi Feeder Rd, Delai Saweni, Saweni Beach Rd, Lawaki Village, Velovelo Temple Rd, Velovelo Rota Tank Rd, Navutu, Natabua seaside, Natabua Prison, Navutu Industrial
Tualesia reservoir zone
No reports · Simla, Thomson Cres, Waya St, Valima Hill and surrounding areas
Phluggers reservoir zone
No reports · Lautoka Hospital, the city centre, Namoli Village, Namoli Industrial, Navutu Industrial and surrounding areas
DMO reservoir zone
No reports · Tagimoucia St, Natokowaqa and surrounding areas
These reports come from neighbours, not the water utility. Anyone can read the board; reporting no water takes a free account, which keeps it honest. A report clears itself after about 8 hours, so the board stays current on its own. When several people report the same sector, it’s likely the whole sector is dry — not just one tank.
What is in force, and where
Lautoka is fed by two treatment plants and each carries its own restriction. Being named on a list means WAF may close valves in your area, not that it will on a given night. A zone that is not named has not been named in a current notice, which is not the same as a promise of supply.
Saru system
In force: valves closed about 9 pm – 4 am nightly since 25 September 2026WAF named Banaras, Natokowaqa, Field 40, Balawa, Natabua Heights, Natabua Housing, Saru Back Road, Navula Road, Vuda Back Road, Wairabetia, Velovelo, Lauwaki, Viseisei East and elevated parts of Padarath Road. Flow into the Saru plant from the Varaqe intake had dropped from about 6.5 to 5.2 million litres a day.
Nagado system
No current notice; last rationed 9 pm – 4 am daily from December 2024Nagado is fed by Vaturu Dam and shared with Nadi. When the dam fell to 60.31% in December 2024, WAF rationed on the same overnight hours and named Kashmir, Tavakubu, Saru Back Road, Kermode Road, Sukanaivalu, Bavadra, elevated Simla, Waiyavi, Field 40, Rifle Range, M N Naidu Road, Natabua, Banaras, Vuda Back Road, Viseisei Back Road, Saweni, Wairabetia, Velovelo, Lauwaki, Tawatawa, Vaivai and Lomolomo (WAF notice, 5 December 2024).
Peak hours, all areas
Heavy use asked to be held off 6–9 am and 5–8 pmWAF's national dry-season request of 7 August 2026, repeated in the 25 September Lautoka notice.
Hilltop streets, all year
13 Lautoka areas are declared intermittent supply, restriction or notTavakubu Cemetery elevated area; Teidamu Road hilltop; Battery Road and Esovi; Lomolomo Public School Road hilltop; Lion Place and Ajodhya Prasad Banaras hilltop; Captain Withers Street hilltop and Field 40 top; Tawatawa Road; Varaqe Road end of main hilltop; Buabua hilltop to close blue tank; Pseci Bune Road Vitogo Paipai; Vadrayawasewa Village; Naikabula Munsi Khan Road; Waidranudranu Settlement Tavakubu top. From WAF's October 2025 list, which declares 84 such areas across the Western Division.
Source: , checked 22 October 2026.
Where the water comes from, and why it runs short
Two plants feed the city. Saru draws from the Varaqe intake on the river and supplies the Saru reservoir zone; Nagado, fed by Vaturu Dam, sends water down duplicate high-pressure trunk mains shared with Nadi. Both fall in a dry spell, and the hilltop streets lose pressure first because they sit at the end of the climb. Floods cut supply as well, which is the part that catches people out: heavy rain blocks the intakes and dislodges raw-water mains at the river crossings. In January 2022 WAF put a Saru-system outage that left Field 40, Natabua, Banaras, Navula, Wairabetia, Lauwaki and Vuda Back Road dry for days down to exactly that, with no raw water reaching the plant at all.
Varaqe intake into the Saru plant: about 5.2 million litres a day, down about a fifth from 6.5 (WAF, 25 September 2026)
The line for water-cart requests; contact@waf.com.fj takes them too. In the hilltop areas WAF has declared intermittent supply, a fortnightly cart is free on request. During a restriction WAF says carting is arranged where needed, with priority to essential needs and to customers facing prolonged interruptions.
WAF runs the Lautoka rural round over five days a fortnight. Weeks 1 and 3 of the month: Vakabuli; Lololo, Teidamu and Tuvu; Johnson Road, Lovu and Vatamai; Buabua and Qalitu; Vitogo Paipai and Drasa Dam Road. Weeks 2 and 4: Saru Vaivai Road and Bandrama/Vadrama; Saru Navula Road; Tavakubu Back Road; Tavakubu Settlement and Tavakubu Cemetery Road; Vuda Back Road and Wairabetia. The schedule numbers those days 1 to 5 and does not name the weekdays. Requests have to be in at least three days before the date, and WAF asks you to keep the service order number for follow-ups.
The National Contact Centre takes faults, low pressure and cart requests 24 hours: 5777 from any mobile network, or (679) 334 6777. The Lautoka customer centre is at FRCS Building No. 2, Tavewa Avenue. Notices reach WAF's Facebook page, facebook.com/WaterAuthorityofFiji, before the website does.
After a burst main, or when the water comes back milky or discoloured, WAF asks you to run the tap for three to five minutes before drinking it; milky water is usually air in the system. During and after a flood, boil it first. That is WAF's own advice on its water-quality page.