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Water resources sustainable management is a vital issue for small islands where groundwater is often the only available water resource. Nauru is an isolated and uplifted limestone atoll island located in the Pacific Ocean. Politecnico di Milano performed a feasibility study for the development of sustainable use of groundwater on the island. Thispaperfocusesonthefirstphaseof the study that concerns the conceptual site model development, the hydrogeological characterization and the 2D model implementation.
The report details the planning considerations including the investigation of the water supply and sewerage infrastructure needs of Nauru for the next 20 years. It is noted that Nauru has underinvested in water and sanitation infrastructure for many decades and significant capital investment will be necessary to meet both the current and future needs for the island community for the provision of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Scientific published report: Hydrogeology Journal - Feb. 2009
Article - published in 2017
Government Report to UNCCD - prepared by the Dept. Economic Development and Environment. 2003
Nauru, in the central Pacific Ocean, is a raised atoll capping a volcanic seamount arising from an ocean floor depth of 4300m. The land area is 22km, and the island rises to 70m above sea level. Drilling has proved dolomitised limestone of upper Miocene or younger age to a depth of 55m below sea level. Gravity and magnetic surveys indicate that the limestone probably overlies volcanic bedrock at a depth of about 500m. Reverse-circulation drilling and geoelectrical probes indicate that there is a discontinuous freshwater layer averaging 5m thick beneath Nauru.
The problem of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers and oceanic islands is not a new one and a great deal of research has been undertaken since the late 19th century. The first model was developed in 1888 and is known as the Ghyben-Herzberg. It is a simple model based on the hydrostatic balance between fresh and saline water. With the advent of large computing capacity over the past few decades, more sophisticated models have been developed for the simulation of seawater intrusion and upconing of saline water beneath a pumping well.
Map of the Nauru Island hydrology feature, Buada Lagoon and areas of land development.
Jungblut V and Dowiyogo B. 2016. Directory of Wetlands of Nauru - 2016. Report to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).