'Eua Houma Water

'Eua is the only island in Tonga that has a river which runs through Mountain Vaiangina.The village of Houma receives its water from this river. 

Stake President Lamisï Makitoni Ma'u approached us with helping the village of Houma to get water. This is a village of about 300. There only source of water at this time is rain catchment. They currently have to take bottles and other containers to a neighboring village to obtain water.

Houma in the past has obtained water running through a cave and pumped up and over the mountain by a diesel pump. This pump has failed.  Houma also has been receiving water through a solar system. This system does not appear to be powerful enough to lift the water over the mountain to reach Houma. Our project will be to find a way to get adequate water to the village.

President Ma'u, the town officer, and the water man drove us to the area of the water source. They then took us on a hike down the mountain to the water sites.

At the first site was the cave where the water comes out of the mountain. The nonworking diesel pump is located here. It is very old.

President Ma'u

Elder Thomson recording measurements of the pump

There is a second pump house between the cave and the solar panels, but the pump here is also not working. The water from the solar system is now pumped directly over the mountain.











We then hiked to the area where the solar panels are located. The pump to power the solar panels is about 200 feet down at a second creek before it reaches the ocean. The power from this pump is barely enough for a trickle to reach the village. 

President Ma'u pointed below where the creek reaches the ocean far below the cliff. 

The view here is amazing. A short ways wet is the Tonga Trench, the second deepest ocean in the world. 



The project we proposed is to get another bank of solar panels to there will be enough power to get the water over the mountain to Houma. Daniel from PAO and Elder Thomson went on another fact-finding visit to 'Eua. President Ma'u and the water man again showed them around the area. Daniel is working up a proposal and submitting costs to us. Unfortunately, we came home before this project was completed.