Toward mapping potential groundwater recharge zones across Viti Levu and Vanua Levu (Fiji islands)

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract

Water access in Fiji is a critical issue as not everyone can access reticulated water sources which poses heavy dependence on groundwater sources. Along with its various uses, groundwater sources have been left vulnerable to contamination and depletion over the years due to changes in climatic patterns and human influence. Traditional hydrometric groundwater survey is performed monthly to help determine recharge potential areas in Fiji but doesn’t cover all the water sources nor considers all the factors contributing to groundwater recharge. GIS, presents a contemporary approach to identify potential recharge areas which has been used in this study. In this study, the Multi Influencing Factor technique was used to determine the weightage of the factors aspect, slope, soil drainage, drainage density, parent materials and rainfall which are believed to have potentially contribute to groundwater recharge.  The basic GIS tools of overlaying and reclassification was used to denote the relationships between the factors and groundwater recharge and the potential groundwater recharges areas for Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.  Results have shown that higher potential areas are mostly areas with lower altitudes such as plains, wet areas (windward side), water bodies, excessively drained soils and parent materials with high exposure to weathering. Low ground water recharge potential areas are mostly mountainous, poorly drained soils, dense vegetation and poorly permeable bedrocks. These information is compared against existing boreholes and findings are to assist the government to invest more in those areas that have high recharge areas.

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. Aeschbach-Hertig, W., Gleeson, T., 2012. Regional strategies for the accelerating global problem of groundwater depletion. Nature Geoscience, 5(12), 853-861.
  2. -Ankita, D.P., Kazuo, N., 2014. Modeling hydrological response to land use change in watersheds of viti levu island, FIJI. Journal of Environmental Research and Development, 8(3), p. 492.
  3. -AQUASTAT, F., 2005. AQUASTAT database.
  4. -Childs, C., 2004. Interpolating surfaces in ArcGIS spatial analyst. ArcUser, July-September, 3235, p. 569.
  5. -Dixon-Jain, P., Flannery, E., Sundaram, B., Walker, K., Fontaine, K., Stewart, G., Norman, R., Wallace, L., Riddell, A., 2014. Pacific Island groundwater and future climates: first-pass regional vulnerability assessment. Geoscience Australia.
  6. -FALKLAND, A., Custodio, E., 1991. Hydrology and water resources of small islands: a practical guide: a contribution to the International Hydrological Programme. Studies and reports in hydrology, 49, pp.i-xiii.
  7. -Ganapuram, S., Kumar, G.V., Krishna, I.M., Kahya, E., Demirel, M.C., 2009. Mapping of groundwater potential zones in the Musi basin using remote sensing data and GIS. Advances in Engineering Software, 40(7), 506-518.
  8. -Hewitt, A.E., 1993. Methods and rationale of the New Zealand soil classification. Landcare Research science series No. 2. Lincoln, New Zealand.
  9. -Krishnamurthy, J., Venkatesa Kumar, N., Jayaraman, V., Manivel, M., 1996. An approach to demarcate ground water potential zones through remote sensing and a geographical information system. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 17(10), 1867-1884.
  10. -Kumar, V., 2010. Water management in Fiji. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 26(1), 81-96.
  11. -Lerner, D.N., 1990. Groundwater recharge in urban areas. Atmospheric Environment Part B: Urban Atmosphere AEBAE 5 v. 24 B, 1, 29-33.
  12. -Leslie, D., 2012. A reference manual for utilising and managing the soil resources of Fiji. Secr. Pac. Community Nabua Fiji.
  13. -Leslie, D.M., 1997. An introduction to the soils of Fiji. An introduction to the soils of Fiji.
  14. -Loco, R.A., 2011. Hydrogeology of the Middle Sigatoka Valley, Southwest Viti Levu, Fiji."
  15. -Magesh, N.S., Chandrasekar, N., Soundranayagam, J.P., 2012. Delineation of groundwater potential zones in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, using remote sensing, GIS and MIF techniques. Geoscience frontiers, 3(2), 189-196.
  16. -Murthy, K.S.R., 2000. Ground water potential in a semi-arid region of Andhra Pradesh-a geographical information system approach. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 21(9), 1867-1884.
  17. -Patil, S.G., Mohite, N.M., 2014. Identification of groundwater recharge potential zones for a watershed using remote sensing and GIS. International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences, 4(3), 485-498.
  18. -Ping, J., Nichol, C., Wei, X., 2014. Quantification of groundwater recharge using the chloride mass balance method in a semi-arid mountain terrain, South Interior British Columbia, Canada. J Chem Pharm Res, 6(1), 383-388.
  19. -Portmann, F.T., Döll, P., Eisner, S., Flörke, M., 2013. Impact of climate change on renewable groundwater resources: assessing the benefits of avoided greenhouse gas emissions using selected CMIP5 climate projections. Environmental Research Letters, 8(2), p.024023.
  20. -Scanlon, B.R., Reedy, R.C., Stonestrom, D.A., Prudic, D.E., Dennehy, K.F., 2005. Impact of land use and land cover change on groundwater recharge and quality in the southwestern US. Global Change Biology, 11(10), 1577-1593.
  21. -Schot, P.P., Van der Wal, J., 1992. Human impact on regional groundwater composition through intervention in natural flow patterns and changes in land use. Journal of Hydrology, 134(1-4), 297-313.
  22. -Selvam, S., Magesh, N.S., Chidambaram, S., Rajamanickam, M., Sashikkumar, M.C., 2015. A GIS based identification of groundwater recharge potential zones using RS and IF technique: a case study in Ottapidaram taluk, Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. Environmental earth sciences, 73(7), 3785-3799.
  23. -Senanayake, I.P., Dissanayake, D.M.D.O.K., Mayadunna, B.B., Weerasekera, W.L., 2016. An approach to delineate groundwater recharge potential sites in Ambalantota, Sri Lanka using GIS techniques. Geoscience Frontiers, 7(1), 115-124..
  24. -Sener, E., Davraz, A., Ozcelik, M., 2005. An integration of GIS and remote sensing in groundwater investigations: a case study in Burdur, Turkey. Hydrogeology Journal, 13(5-6), 826-834.
  25. -Singh, S.K., Zeddies, M., Shankar, U., Griffiths, G.A., 2016. Potential groundwater recharge zones within New Zealand. Geoscience Frontiers, 10(3), 1065-1072.
  26. -Singh, S.K., Zeddies, M., Shankar, U., Griffiths, G.A., 2017. Potential groundwater recharge zones within New Zealand. Geoscience Frontiers, 10(3), 1065-1072.
  27. -Thompson, S., Gruner, I., Gapare, N., 2004. New Zealand land cover database, version 2–illustrated guide to target classes. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, 126.
  28. -Thorpe, H.R., Scott, D.M., 1999. An evaluation of four soil moisture models for estimating natural ground water recharge. Journal of Hydrology (New Zealand), pp.179-209.
  29. -Toebes, C., Palmer, B.R., 1969. Hydrological regions of New Zealand. Water and Soil Division, Ministry of Worrks for the National Water and Soil Coservation Organisation.
  30. -Waikar, M.L., Nilawar, A.P., 2014. Identification of groundwater potential zone using remote sensing and GIS technique. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(5), 12163-12174.
  31. -Ward, R.G., 1965. Land use and population in Fiji. Land use and population in Fiji., (9).
  32. -Yeh, H.F., Cheng, Y.S., Lin, H.I., Lee, C.H., 2016. Mapping groundwater recharge potential zone using a GIS approach in Hualian River, Taiwan. Sustainable Environment Research, 26(1), 33-43.
  33. -Yeh, H.F., Lee, C.H., Hsu, K.C., Chang, P.H., 2009. GIS for the assessment of the groundwater recharge potential zone. Environmental geology, 58(1), 185-195.