Samoa

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Samoa is part of:
Asia & Pacific · Pacific Islands ·
Water Basins of Samoa:
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Facts & Figures

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Capital

Apia

Neighbouring Countries

none

Total Area

2,944 km²

- Water

10 km² (0.34%) / 34 m²/ha

- Land

2,934 km²

Coastline

403 km

Population

184,984 (65 inhab./km²)

HDI^A

0.760 (2007)

Gini Coefficient^A

n/a (1995)

Nominal GDP^B

$537 million

GDP (PPP) Per Capita^B

$5,000

National UN Presence

FAO, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNEP, WMO, UNESCAP

Land Use^C

- Cultivated Land

1,333 km² (45.43%)

- Arable

620 km² (21.13%)

- Permanent Crops

713 km² (24.3%)

- Irrigated

km²

- Non cultivated

km² (54.57%)

Average Annual Rainfall^D

Renewable Water Resources^E

km³

Water Withdrawals^F	km³/yr
- For Agricultural Use	n/a
- For Domestic Use	n/a
- For Industrial Use	n/a
- Per Capita	m³

Population with safe access to
- Improved Water Source	88%
- Urban population	90%
- Rural population	87%
- Improved Sanitation	100%
- Urban population	100%
- Rural population	100%

References & Remarks

^A UNDP Human Development Report

^B CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

^C CIA World Factbook Country Profiles

^D Aquastat - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture

^E CIA World Factbook

^F Earthtrends

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1 News
2 Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context
3 Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources
4 Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment
5 Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination
6 Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation
7 Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities
8 Articles
9 Projects and Case Studies
10 Publications
11 Who is Who
12 References
13 See also
14 External Resources
15 Attachments

News

Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context

Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources

The surface water and groundwater resources of Samoa are fundamentally controlled by the geology. Surface water and groundwater are used for all types of water supply. Surface water provides approximately 65% of the water supply and groundwater 35%. Piped water supply access is estimated at between 90-95% of the population.

Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment

Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination

See Sector coordination sub-page for detailed description

Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation

Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities

Extent to which groundwater and surface water resources are used and alternative sources

Surface water and groundwater are the only sources of water used for water supply provision, with the exception of rainwater harvesting practiced widely in the Falealupo Peninsula and in otherwise isolated and rural households. Piped water supply access is estimated at between 90-95% of the population.

The various and relative demands placed on watersheds/water resources

There has been no national assessment to date on the stress put upon the individual catchments and aquifers. This work will be undertaken as part of an on-going EU funded water sector support program (WaSSP). Limited historical surface water monitoring, and a lack of raw water abstraction metering, to date prevents accurate assessment of water withdrawal against low flow yields.

Competing uses of water and priority uses

The competition for water resources appears in the Fuluasou and Vaisigano water catchments around Apia, where both public water supply and public energy supply are provided by the same river systems. Hydropower operations in Fuluasou river catchment is now non-operational due to insufficient water quality and complete infilling of the intake reservoir with sediment.

4 Sources of pollution of surface water, groundwater and coastal waters

There is no known water quality monitoring for wastewater associated pollution. An on-going Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Apia wastewater and drainage project is presently in the design phase and is about to commence baseline monitoring. There is however ample visual evidence of wastewater contamination of streams around the urban Apia area. Solid waste disposal is also a problem within the low-lying populated areas, with obvious uncontrolled tipping into valleys. Sediment erosion is the most visible surface water pollutant within the catchments. Perhaps the most stark reminder of sedimentation in the watersheds is the complete infilling of the now abandoned Fuluasou Hydropower Dam reservoir. Salinisation is known to occur at some boreholes in Savaii, although this is generally thought to be saline up-coning (i.e. over-pumping of an individual borehole) rather than saline intrusion (over-abstraction from the aquifer as a whole). However a lack of systematic monitoring and groundwater investigation prevent further assessment.