Assessment aims
CSIRO’s project will build upon the responses provided to the recent questionnaire circulated by the Norfolk Island Regional Council, existing studies and local knowledge to provide a contemporary understanding of the water resources of Norfolk Island and the opportunities to increase water security. As part of this project CSIRO will undertake a program of data collection and field measurements. These will include measurements of water infiltrating into the soil, surface runoff, groundwater storage and water use by vegetation and a selection of households. A lack of hydrological data on Norfolk Island means anecdotal information and records, such as bore drilling logs, held by members of the community will be vital to the success of the project.
Project deliverables
Specifically the project seeks to:
- implement a hydrological measurement and monitoring program on Norfolk Island
- enhance the capacity of the community and Council to manage their water resources
- provide information to help the Emergency Management Norfolk Island committee appropriately respond to the risk of a water emergency
- undertake a prefeasibility analysis to assess water source and storage options for increasing the resilience of existing water supplies and the potential for providing redundancy in supply.