Environmental research

Poutasi village located on the southeast coast of Upolu Island is one of communities within the district of Falealili. The village has a growing population and it s the central location where public facilities are established such as; the District Second High School and District Hospital servicing all other 10 villages of Falealili District. The village is also blessed with freshwater springs, however it faces a major problem with quality water access for household consumption and domestic use. Water shortage through piped water has always been a problem, and water is ration throughout. For instance, water is only available to households in the morning from 9am 10 am and than it goes off and it will be available again in the evening. The water supply is dictated by a sub-mersible pump installed by the Samoa Water Authority (SWA) in the neighboring village of Saleilua and only runs during the hours mentioned because of the inadequacy of this water source. In addition, a large number of families who s homes are further up the hill do not get any water at all due to poor pressure. The natural springs and river is denuded of its natural flora and fauna including mangroves due to poor management and muddy run-off from higher ground. The project s overall objective is to design and developed a water supply system for Poutasi village that is able to provide consistent water supply to all households in the village including households that have not yet got access to clean quality piped water, through using the existing water resources available within the community. The planning grant phase of the project will cover the following specific objectives; a) To identify the main source of water supply within the village and assess its capacity to support the community, b) To conduct a full technical site assessment on the feasibility of such proposed project, in terms of environmental impact, social and economic; c) To raise awareness within the community about the value of conserving water resources such as natural water springs and rivers d) To prepare a full report on the site assessment and submit a major project proposal identifying the actual cost for the project and detail design plan *****PROJECT UPDATE: Project Complete, Grantee submitted progress report and full-project proposal for NSC consideration*****

Samoa