NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN

Overview and Area of Expertise

The Samoa National Water Resources Management Plan (NWRMP, 2021-2030)1 represents a collaborative effort of multiple agencies to ensure the sustained availability of freshwater resources for both the public and private sectors of Samoa. Síor Consulting Ltd. (Síor) played a geospatial role in the development of the NWRMP. Actively contributing to the goals delineated by the Samoa Water Resources Management Act (SWRM Act, 2008), Síor’s work focussed on addressing Samoa’s water-related challenges in terms of both vulnerability to climate change and economic growth through geospatial activities.

Project Requirements

Síor’s involvement in the project was geospatial focused in response to the following requirements:

Assessment, review and analysis of the previous National Water Resources Master Plan, identifying gaps and understanding its current limitations.
Development of a water risk profile for Samoa, highlighting areas of potential water scarcity, contamination risks, and solutions for mitigation.
Assessment of the current water monitoring systems and their analytical skill.
Strategic execution and implementation of the NWRMP with a focus on water resource availability, quantification of water demands, and strategies to reduce water supply shortages.

Delivered Solutions

Síor adopted a strategy focused on the following pillars:

Create bespoke, semi-automated, geospatial solutions, tailored to complement the GWP Consultants’ project outcomes.
Leverage national-scale LiDAR-derived Digital Terrain Models (DEM) for in-depth hydrological characterization and scenario modelling.
Streamlining geospatial data, geodatabase management, drawing production, and visualisation.
Organisation of Samoa’s water resources geospatial data into a geodatabase system.
Development of tailored geomorphological, hydrological and risk modelling geospatial tools and associated products to inform NWRMP’s environmental and water resource evaluations.
Development of automated routines for geospatial drawing production and enhanced data visualisations.