Location of Fresh-Water Supplies on Lifuka, 1993

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Lifuka, Ha'apai Water Supply Reports

Most of the 3000 inhabitants of Lifuka live in four contiguous
villages and have been supplied with water from a well in the middle
of the island since 1976. On commencement of operation, the water
rapidly became too salty for human consumption. The majority of the
island is low-lying and consists of highly porous, uplifted coral
limestone. Hydrogeological assessment found the fresh-water lens to be
very thin and strongly influenced by tidal mixing, sea level changes and
drought. Comparison with the morphology of Bermuda led a search for
improved water quality on the western side of the island using
geophysical methods and installation of salinity monitoring wells. A
younger deposit of shelly, coral sand on the leeward side has a lower
permeability, with a thicker fresh-water lens and is under less influence
of tidal mixing with salt water.