Groundwater pollution by sanitation on tropical islands
On coral islands and coastal areas of other islands, contamination by sewage can threaten
the use of groundwater as a drinking water supply. This is especially severe on small and
low-lying islands, where surface water supplies are generally unavailable, and population
densities in urbanising areas are increasing ahead of centralised sewerage collection and
treatment systems. On such islands soils are usually thin, and aquifers are highly
permeable and can only be tapped at shallow depths without drawing in saline water. These
factors lead to a high risk of microbiological and nitrate contamination of groundwater which
can have serious and recurrent affects on the health of local communities which rely on the
groundwater supply.
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