Hydrology experts at Flinders University are calling for urgent investigations into the operation of bore-fields that access fresh groundwater on Pacific islands, including Kiribati, where rising sea levels are already putting local water supplies at risk.
Hydrology experts at Flinders University are calling for urgent investigations into the operation of bore-fields that access fresh groundwater on Pacific islands, including Kiribati, where rising sea levels are already putting local water supplies at risk.
“These atoll islands have the most threatened fresh groundwater on earth, and are relied upon by some of the most remote communities,” says Flinders University’s Professor Adrian Werner.
Modelling of a specialised form of fresh groundwater extraction, featuring horizontal wells, has the potential to reduce the risk of aquifer reserves being overused, and to provide drinking water of lower salinity.
Such wells, also known as infiltration galleries or skimming wells, play a crucial role in extracting fresh groundwater on atoll islands. They typically comprise horizontal or slightly inclined slotted pipes, surrounded by a gravel pack and connected to an extraction well or sump.
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Image: Professor Adrian Werner (centre) at the Pacific Groundwater Gallery Knowledge Exchange workshop, Kiribati. (Credit: Flinders University)
