Groundwater Monitoring
In Fiji
After the completion of major groundwater assessments, drilling and development projects, it is essential to have a good knowledge of the fluctuation of groundwater levels with rainfall and time. Long-term groundwater resource assessment work is therefore carried out to monitor fluctuations of water table with relation to :
- recharge to aquifers through rainfall
- evaporation rate
- the nature of the soils
- type of vegetation
Monitoring of groundwater levels is mainly carried out in areas:
- where groundwater is used for public water supplies
- prone to deletion or contamination from underlying poor-quality water due to over-pumping
These monitoring boreholes represent the groundwater fluctuations in aquifers. Due to the cost of monitoring and maintaining the monitoring boreholes, some of these boreholes are no longer monitored. Some of the data from the monitoring boreholes has been used for Groundwater modeling purposes in overseas aided projects such as JAICA (Japanese AID) and French project in Vanua Levu.
The existing monitoring network of monitoring boreholes extends from the Southwest to the North of Viti Levu, and in parts of Vanua Levu. Some boreholes are installed wth hydrographs while others are simply measured using a dipper on monthly basis.
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