Community Lifelines Programme

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Pacific Water Safety Plans Programme

Vanuatu Country Profile

Water Supply System Description

Water Resources Monitoring

Water Quality Monitoring

Water Safety Planning

Water Supply Improvements Needs

References

Vanuatu Water Safety Plans Country Reports

1. Scoping Mission Report

• WSP Scoping Mission Report Vanuatu 2-9 May 2006.pdf
• WSP Roundtable-Vanuatu.pdf
• WSP-Wrapup-Vanuatu.pdf
• Vanuatu PPt Photos.pdf

2. National Training and Planning Workshop

• Workshop Report 14-18 August 2006.pdf
• National Plan.pdf
• Workshop Photos.pdf

3. Vanuatu Water Supply System Description

• Vanuatu Water Supply System Description.pdf

4. Vanuatu Follow Up Mission I Report

• Follow Up Mission Report/Water Safety Plan/Improvement Schedule-Luganville Urban Supply.pdf

5. Vanuatu Follow Up Mission 2 Report

• Vanuatu Follow Up Mission 2 Report (H2S Training Report attached).pdf

Vanuatu Water Supply System Description

INTRODUCTION

Vanuatu is chosen as on of the four pilot countries for the Pacific Water safety Plans programme and focuses on the provision of safe drinking water. A one week scoping mission and workshop was successfully carried out with the commitment of national government and all other stakeholders for the water supply. Pilot sites were chosen from the rural and urban areas and it was envisaged that replication will follow within the country for all the remaining water supplies.
The Republic of Vanuatu is located in the Western Pacific, being one of the groups of countries of Melanesia (Refer to Maps 1and2). Vanuatu has six main island groups which comprise the country’s six provinces. The population of about 200,000 remains 80% rural, with only two urban centres. Port Vila the capital (pop. 36,000) on the island of Efate in Shefa Province, and Luganville (pop.12, 000), the other urban centre, is on Vanuatu’s largest island, Espirito Santo, and part of Sanma Province. Vanuatu’s islands are of raised limestone and/or of volcanic origin.
Some 69 islands are inhabited with rural populations generally found in coastal villages or near provincial centres. Water supply is normally from groundwater via open wells and bores, and from surface water sources. Rainwater collection is also common. Vanuatu’s agriculture industry leads the export earnings. Tourism, second in foreign earnings, is centred mainly on Port Vila and a few outer islands including Espirito Santo in the north and Tanna in the south. Situated in the tropics (between 10 and 20 degrees South latitude) in an active seismic zone with several live volcanoes, Vanuatu experiences frequent natural disasters including cyclones, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
The economy of Vanuatu is based mainly on agricultural products especially fruits, cocoa, coffee and copra with fishing and forestry as the other basic economic activities. Tourism following agricultural products is the major source of revenue for the country.

Map: 1 Vanuatu –Main Islands

Map: 2 Vanuatu- Main Provin

Water supply falls under several authorities in Vanuatu. The Department of Rural Water Supply within the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has responsibility for rural water supply systems countrywide. The Public Works Department under the Ministry of Public Utilities and Infrastructure is responsible for the Luganville town piped water supply and for a number of provincial centres countrywide. UNELCO is a French-owned private utility contracted by government to provide electricity to the two urban centres. For 12 years UNELCO has also managed and operated the Port Vila water supply system. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is responsible for water quality surveillance of all water supply systems, reinforced by the 1994 Public Health Act.

Climate and Geology

The average rainfall varies from 4000mm per annum in North to only 1500 mm in the southern islands. An extended dry season occurs during April to December with little rain occurring that time.
Rivers and creeks are quite common, especially on the larger islands. The flow is seasonal, and is often very close to villages. These sources carry water from inland spring sources to coastal area, where the majority of the population is located. The quality of surface water is often contaminated from upstream. This may be from humans or animals using the creeks or its vicinity for drinking or defecation.

Groundwater Resources

In Vanuatu both ground and surface water resources are utilised for domestic purpose. In urban areas the main water resource is groundwater whereas in rural areas various sources such as wells, springs, rivers and rain water are used. However at most places other than the main urban centre, water supply systems are either quite poor or do not exist. The quality of water is inadequate in many cases, and water sources are subject to contamination.
Ground water is that water that occurs beneath the earth’s surface. It may be abstracted from boreholes or wells, or collected from springs. Groundwater is naturally filtered by the soil or rock matrix through which it passes. Provided that the well or bore hole is located away from source of contamination, abstracted water is of very good quality. In contrast, surface water sources are more prone to bacteriological and other contamination.
In many parts of Vanuatu there are substantial amounts of water in the ground. This large amount of water provides a plentiful storage buffer to cope with seasonal variations in rainfall. If boreholes are drilled to an adequate depth, they can be expected to provide large amounts of water even during severe drought. By contrast, spring or stream sources may dry up during periods of lower rainfall.

Groundwater has traditionally been exploited by constructing hand dug wells in low lying or coastal areas. These open structures are prone to contamination and often contain water that is unsuitable for drinking. A drilled borehole capped with a pump is a better technical solution, as the groundwater source remains protected. However the drilling of a borehole requires specialised machinery that requires road excess. Generally, drilling is also restricted to where the groundwater is at a depth less than 100m below the surface.




Where geological conditions are suitable, groundwater may be available over a wide area. In this case a borehole can be located close to the village, hence avoiding the dispute problems frequently associated with more distant supplies.