Port Moresby's water supply network shows 'signs of imminent failure' amid underinvestment

Port Moresby's water supply system is on the brink of collapse due to decades of neglect, according to documents obtained by the ABC. The aging infrastructure, originally built by Australia in the 1960s, is now in a "fragile state" with numerous leaks, posing a risk of "imminent failure" for a city of nearly one million residents.

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Port Moresby's water supply system is now operating under extreme and unsustainable risk, with multiple critical assets … at or beyond end-of-life.

The network's capacity has been severely outstripped by the rapid population growth in Papua New Guinea's capital. Documents reveal that critical assets are beyond their end-of-life stage, with one leak so powerful it has created a sinkhole. The state-owned water utility, Water PNG, is effectively insolvent, and the system has minimal redundancy or storage capacity, meaning a major failure could drastically reduce water supply.

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These critical assets have suffered protracted degradation and are showing signs of imminent failure.

Water PNG has been warning the government about this crisis since at least April of last year, detailing the "extreme and unsustainable risk" the system faces. A failure could trigger a public health and security emergency, with cascading economic consequences for the country.

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A planned temporary partial shutdown of this pipeline will be required in line with engineering assessments and community consultation.

The PNG government is now working with the United Nations and international partners, including Australia, to implement emergency repairs. James Young, CEO of Water PNG, acknowledged that planned temporary shutdowns will be necessary for repairs, assuring that measures will be taken to minimize disruptions and that the public will be kept informed.

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Measures will be in place to minimise interruption while the repairs are undertaken.