EU EDF-SOPAC Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States Republic of KRA 2 (Water) Country Mission, October 2006 – 1

EU-SOPAC (EDF9) Project Report 82 Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States

REPUBLIC OF PALAU TECHNICAL MISSION REPORT KRA 2 (WATER) MISSION REPORT

MELEKEOK STATE, 07th October – 20th October 2006

Lake Ngardok, State, Babeldaob.

[EU-SOPAC Project Report 82 – Booth] EU EDF-SOPAC Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States Republic of Palau KRA 2 (Water) Country Mission, October 2006 – 2

Compiled by:

Stephen Booth SOPAC Secretariat

May 2007

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Community; however, the views expressed herein must never be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Community.

For more copies of this report, apply to the SOPAC Secretariat at the address below:

PACIFIC ISLANDS APPLIED GEOSCIENCE COMMISSION c/o SOPAC Secretariat Private Mail Bag GPO, Suva FIJI ISLANDS http://www.sopac.org Phone: +679 338 1377 Fax: +679 337 0040 [email protected]

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CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 5

2. OBJECTIVES ...... 6

3. LIST OF PEOPLE...... 7

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 8

5. GENERAL DISCUSSIONS AND CONSULTATIONS...... 9 5.1 National Steering Committee...... 9 5.2 Hydrological Monitoring Services ...... 9 5.3 Lake Ngardok Conservation Area ...... 11 5.4 Water Supply and Sewerage in Melekeok State ...... 18 5.4.1 Water Supply System...... 18 5.4.2 Water Demand Assessment...... 20 5.4.3 Sewerage System ...... 21

6. KEY RESULT AREA 2 – TASK REVIEW ...... 23

7. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS...... 25

ANNEXES

A Summary Mission Itinerary ...... 27 B SOPAC/WHO Water Safety Plan Workshop Programme ...... 29 C Terms of Reference (TOR) for “Provision of Hydrological Monitoring Support Services to the Republic of Palau”...... 30

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Melekeok State physiography, showing State boundary (black), Lake Ngardok and Ngerdorch River (dark blue) and Compact Road (light blue) ...... 11 2 Poorly vegetated, strongly linear, steep-sided ridge extending to the outlet zone of Ngardok Lake ...... 12 3 Severe soil erosion is evident in many areas within the Lake Ngardok catchment ...... 13 4 General westerly view across the Lake Ngardok catchment ...... 14 5 Lake Ngardok showing typical fringing, vegetated mat of Hanguana malayana ...... 14 6 Bathymetry of Lake Ngardok in 1996 (after USGS(2)) ...... 15 7 USGS Ngardok Rain Gauge (073037134361570)...... 16 8 USGS Stream Gauge (16891420) North Fork Ngardok River, positioned just downstream of the outlet of Lake Ngardok ...... 16 9 USGS lake-stage gauge (16891425), near the outlet of Lake Ngardok...... 17 10 USGS Stream Gauge (16891428) North Fork Ngardok River, below Compact Road – site totally derelict ...... 17 11 Schematic of the water supply system for the new national Capital complex and Melekeok Village, Babeldaob ...... 19 12 Schematic of the sewage disposal system for the new national Capital complex and Melekeok village, Babeldaob...... 21 13 Storage tank for reclaimed wastewater, sited above Melekeok Village ...... 22

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Summary of Model River Flows at Pump Station...... 20 2 Summary of EDF9 KRA2 Water intervention tasks for Melekeok State...... 24

LIST OF ACRONYMS

ACP – African, Caribbean and Pacific BOA – Bureau of Agriculture BPW – Bureau of Public Works CAS – Conventional Activated Sledge CIP – Capital Improvement Program DEH – Division of Environmental Health EDF – European Development Fund EOI – Expressions of Interest EQPB – Environmental Quality Protection Board HRW – Hydraulics Research Wallingford HYCOS – Hydrological Cycle Observation Systems KRA – Key Result Area MBR – Membrane Biological Reaction NIWA – National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (New Zealand) NRCS – Natural Resources Conservation Service PALARIS – Palau Automated Land and Resource Information Systems PCS – Palau Conservation Society ROP – Republic of Palau SKM – Sinclair Knight Merz SOPAC – Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission TEI – The Environment Incorporated USDA – United States Department of Agriculture USGS – United States Geological Survey

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1. INTRODUCTION

During October – November 2006, a four-week period of duty travel covering three of the North and Central Pacific nations was undertaken to refine and rationalise the EDF9 work plans pertaining to the in-country KRA2 (Water) tasks and enhance the available synergies and support within the SOPAC Community Lifelines (Water) Programme. The mission initially targeted Palau (2 weeks), before moving on to Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands (1 week) and completing in Nauru (1 week).

This document is a record of the proceedings of the in-country mission to the Republic of Palau (ROP), undertaken by Mr Stephen Booth, EDF8/9 Senior Advisor (Water) from 07th October to 20th October 2006. The specific objective of these consultations was to help rationalise Project tasks appropriate to Key Result Area 2 (KRA 2) interventions of the EDF9 – Republic of Palau Work Plan. The nine effective working days (Annex A) actually achieved in Palau represented the first in-country fieldwork opportunity for the KRA2 Water Advisor since the initial EDF9 multi- stakeholder meeting(1) and consultations completed in Palau in November 2004.

This EDF9 Project mission was primarily devoted to ROP’s identified KRA2 intervention area of Melekeok State on Babeldaob, but part of the time during the initial week was also devoted to assisting delivery and ensuring Project synergy with the SOPAC/WHO Water Safety Plan (WSP) national training and planning workshop held in the State Conference Centre.

The invaluable help with field survey work and the primary assistance of staff from the Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB), the Palau Conservation Society (PCS) and the Design & Engineering Office of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is gratefully acknowledged. This report also incorporates and presents some of the hydrological services support documentation subsequently established as an EF9 consultancy as a result of this KRA2 mission.

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2. OBJECTIVES

The specific KRA2 mission objectives envisaged for Melekeok State, Babeldaob were originally outlined in proposals submitted on 08th September 2006 for consideration by the Minister of State and National Representative of Palau to SOPAC, Mr Temmy Schmull, and subsequently formally approved by him later that same month. In outline, these objectives were:

(A) To maximize the synergy between SOPAC and the EDF9 Project by taking full advantage of the capacity-building and training opportunity offered by the SOPAC/WHO Pacific Water Safety Plans (WSP) Programme, which conducted a national training and planning workshop (Annex B) – on Water Safety Plans in Koror, Palau, from Monday 09th to Friday 13th October 2006. Because Palau is one of only four (along with Tonga, Vanuatu and Cook Islands) selected “country partners” in which the WHO concept of water safety plans is being initially introduced into the Pacific region, this workshop also offered prime opportunity for other “external” ACP participants from Majuro, Pohnpei and Papua New Guinea, with the SOPAC/EU Project providing the necessary funding to support return flights and per diems for one or two relevant candidates from these other “sub-regional” countries to attend and benefit from the Palau workshop. The intention was that on return to their respective countries, those individuals could then transfer the “lessons learnt” to their colleagues in their respective organisations and associated stakeholders, with the EDF9 Project seeking to continue to provide back-up support as opportunities arise.

(B) The WSP concept also provides the ideal framework for the approach philosophy required for source protection zoning, associated aquifer vulnerability issues and catchment development planning controls, and was therefore particularly pertinent for application to the water resources being developed to supply the new capital developments in Palau’s chosen intervention area of Melekeok State. Accordingly therefore, to follow up momentum with this it was proposed that the EDF8/9 Water Advisor be in Palau during the training workshop and working from that introductory platform to review the provisional work plan tasks under KRA2 of the EDF9 Palau Work Plan.

• Groundwater resources, water supply/demand options and wastewater issues that may require assessment for the new capital’s water supply.

• The surface water and groundwater interactions, risks and impacts posed by abstraction to the associated critical wetland conservation area of the freshwater Lake Ngardok.

(C) In addition, there was an urgent requirement to encourage the ROP government representatives to try to progress the following:

• the need for ROP to identify and recommend appointment (under SOPAC EDF9 funding) of their project Country Intern (as emphasised during the initial multi- stakeholder meeting(1); and

• the developing need for ROP to identify and nominate a country focal point for the imminent regional opportunities presented by the Hydrological Cycle Observation Systems (HYCOS) Project, also being managed by SOPAC. Clearly with SOPAC/EDF9 Project funding available to support the Country Intern staff position, it would perhaps be most logical for such appointee to fulfil a dual function and also be formally nominated as the HYCOS focal point in-country.

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3. LIST OF PEOPLE

The following people were consulted for administrative and technical discussion or provided fieldwork survey assistance during the course of the mission.

Name Position Organisation Contact Details

[email protected] Ms Portia Franz Executive Officer EQPB [email protected] Mr Jerome Sakurai Senior Lab Technician EQPB [email protected] Mr Isaac Soaladaob Director, Bureau of Foreign Affairs MOS [email protected] Manager, Design & Engineering [email protected] Mr Richard Mangham CIP Office 4882410/4996 Mr Benjamin Asuncion Project Manager CIP [email protected] [email protected] Ms Elizabeth Matthews Research Officer PCS [email protected] Mr Shalom ?? Field Assistant PCS Mr Colin Joseph Chairman of Ngardok Reserve Board PCS 7796020/6541048 Mr Edwin Palloi Ngardok Reserve Manager PCS [email protected] Mr Julian Dandy Research Assistant CRRF 4885255 [email protected] Ms Ann Kitalong Environmental Consultant TEI 5873541 [email protected]/ Joanne Maireng Sengebau-Kingzio Chief of Division DEH [email protected] Eden Ridep-Uchel Deputy Chief of Division DEH [email protected] Mike Aurelio PALARIS [email protected] Vernice Stefano Program Manager PALARIS [email protected] Gilbert U. Demei BLS Gustav Aitaro Director BITTA [email protected] Alonzo Kyota Co-Ordinator NEMO [email protected] Ignatio Morei BPW Joe Reklai Chief, Roads & Ground BPW Techur Rengulbai Water BPW Mr Jackson Ngiraingas Governor of [email protected] Ms Robin de Meo Resource Conservationist NRCS, USDA [email protected] Mr Craig Smith Conservation Agronomist NRCS, USDA [email protected] Water Safety Plan personnel Mr Mitesh Mudaliar Pacific Project Assistant WHO Suva Canterbury District Health Board, Mr Christopher Bergin Health Protection Officer [email protected] NZ. Taranaki District Health Board, Mr Murray Lowe Health Protection Officer [email protected] New Zealand. Environment and Scientific Mrs Jan Gregor Senior Scientist Research Center, Christchurch, New Zealand Mr Barry Pollock Region 9 Program Project Officer USEPA [email protected]

Organisation Abbreviations EQPB Environmental Quality Protection Board MOS Ministry of State CIP Capital Improvement Program PCS Palau Conservation Society NRCS, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency BPW Bureau of Public Works DEH Div. of Environmental Health PALARIS Palau Automated Land & Resource Information Systems BLS Bureau of Land and Survey BITTA Bureau of International Trade and Technical Assistance NEMO National Emergency Management Office WHO World Health Organisation CRRF Coral Reef Research Foundation TEI The Environment Incorporated

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4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This mission primarily assisted progression with the activities listed below.

• After discussion and review with EQPB and other government and non-government stakeholders, agreement-in-principle was achieved to subsequently progress with an EDF9-funded consultancy to collate and update analysis of the historic USGS river gauging data for Babeldaob and identify requirements to rehabilitate and re-equip (with support and longer-term sustainability anticipated from the SOPAC/HYCOS Project) the hydrological monitoring stations themselves (Section 5.2 of this mission report provides further details).

• A reconnaissance site visit with PCS provided an overview of the land use patterns within Melekeok State and the Ngerdorch catchment in particular, where the aquatic ecosystem requirements of the Lake Ngardok conservation area are a predominant factor within the water resources of the area (Section 5.3 of this mission report provides further details).

• The newly completed circum-insular “Compact Road” cuts across the south east of Melekeok State a few kilometres downstream of Lake Ngardok. The water supply intake (Section 5.4 of this mission report provides further details) for the new administrative Capital buildings lies a few hundred metres upstream of the road crossing of the Ngerdorch River. The positioning of the water supply intake thus has the triple benefits of being:

(a) safely upstream of any contaminated runoff or spillage associated with the road drainage; (b) being downstream of the buffering “reservoir” storage provided by the lake, providing a reasonably steady flow volume; and (c) being downstream of the buffering “reservoir” storage provided by the lake, allowing settlement of excess sediment loading and other natural treatment processes, thus providing outflow of good quality water derived from the protected catchment.

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5. GENERAL DISCUSSIONS AND CONSULTATIONS

5.1 National Steering Committee

The National Steering Committee Members met on 19th October 2006 to discuss the EDF9 plan of work; to revise the draft Water Safety Plan; and to consider the composition of final membership and the elected the officers of the Committee. Final Membership comprised following members and Officers:

Chairman Mr Joachin Reklai, Director of Bureau of Public Works Vice Chairperson Ms Joanne Maireng Sengebau-Kingzio, Chief, Division of Environmental Health Secretariat Ms Portia K. Franz, Executive Officer, Environmental Quality Protection Board Members Mr Isaac Soaladaob, Techur Rengulbai, Gustav Aitaro, Alonzo Kyota, Mike Aulerio Other membership approved Palau Conservation Society (PCS), Bureau of Agriculture (BOA), Palau Weather Service Station, Governors Association and Stakeholder (Santy Asanuma). Gilbert U. Demei requested that he be taken off membership as PALARIS will remain their representative. Core Work Group BPW, DEH, EQPB, PALARIS, PCS, BOA

Mr Stephen Booth, SOPAC/EU Project Water Advisor, attended this meeting to discuss the relation of the Water Safety Plan to his work on KRA2 (Water) within the EDF9 Project: “Reducing Vulnerability of the Six New Pacific ACP States” designated for Melekeok State. Mr Booth also emphasised to the committee members the urgent need for Palau to identify and appoint an EDF9-funded Country Intern. Such a post could also ideally operate as Palau’s focal point for the HYCOS Project, another pending regional initiative within the water resources sector.

In October 2006 the National Steering Committee requested the Minister of State, Hon. Temmy L. Shmull, for his assistance in the appointment of the SOPAC EDF9 Country Intern. However, to- date, nobody has been appointed and so the national steering committee was working on its own to complete the Water Safety Plan.

With respect to the proposed EDF9 consultancy assistance to ROP with hydrological monitoring services, the Committee informed that a local company, The Environment Incorporated, represented by Ms Ann Kitalong, would contact SOPAC regarding this inquiry.

5.2 Hydrological Monitoring Services

The completion and opening of the circum-insular “Compact Road” on Babeldaob and subsequent transfer of the national capital administration to Melekeok State in 2006, clearly heralds increasingly significant development planning issues for Palau. Future demographic changes and anticipated increases in associated agricultural activity, building, tourism developments and changing land use practices, will all place increased stress on the available water resources.

It is therefore considered essential that a representative hydrological monitoring network be maintained on the island of Babeldaob, to enable assessment of impacts on the aquatic environment and facilitate planning and sustainable management of the finite water resources.

Sustainable utilisation of water resources requires long-term information so that trends can be defined, problems discovered, corrective actions taken, and predictive models be developed for

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future abstraction scenarios. Knowledge of rainfall and runoff is critically necessary, not least for the reasons listed below.

• The prediction and assessment of water supply availability. • Predicting the risks and effects of low flow or drought conditions. • Predicting the risks and effects of flood hazards. • The estimation of groundwater recharge. • Understanding groundwater/surface water interactions in environmentally sensitive wetland conservation areas (eg Lake Ngardok). • Understanding and combating excessive erosion and sedimentation. • Designing wastewater disposal systems. • Managing fisheries or other instream biological needs. • Mitigating adverse water quality/contamination issues. • The design and operation of reservoirs. • The design and operation of diversions for water supply and power generation.

However, it is apparent that no agency in Palau is currently mandated with responsibility for quantitative collection, monitoring and management of national water resource data. Therefore, during January to February 2007, SOPAC sought Expressions of Interest (EOI) for technical support services and assistance to the Republic of Palau. Specifically, consultancy support services were to assist with the review and rehabilitation of hydrological monitoring operations on the main island of Babeldaob.

Following the withdrawal of funding support and removal of key equipment from the water resources sector of Palau by USGS in 2005, the infrastructure of the original hydrological network of river gauging stations is rapidly deteriorating due to lack of maintenance and attention, seriously compromising the potential for continued collection of hydrological time-series data. Dependent upon the findings and recommendations of this consultancy, it is envisaged that re- instrumentation and re-commissioning of a rationalised hydrological monitoring network will be required, with coincident training and capacity building of hydrological personnel in country. Technical support and longer-term contribution to the sustainability of these operations will be provided through synergy with the complementary Hydrological Cycle Observation Systems (HYCOS) Project, also being regionally implemented through SOPAC.

An open international invitation for submission of Expressions of Interest was placed on the SOPAC website on 25th January 2007. In addition, tender documentation was also directly emailed to a number of known potential regional service providers as follows:

• NIWA NZ • SKM NZ & Philippines • MWH Global/NZ • HR Wallingford UK • Annie Kitalong (TEI) Independent (Palau) • Scott Technical Instruments Ltd NZ • Hydrological Services Australia • Greenspan NZ

By early February 2007 closing date, the following three tenderers had responded with bids:

• National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) New Zealand • Hydraulics Research Wallingford (HRW) United Kingdom • The Environment Incorporated (TEI) Palau

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A comprehensive tender evaluation exercise was undertaken and reported during March 2007 and agreement reached on the tender award during April 2007. NIWA tendered the most competitive technical and financial bid with a proposed input timeframe of 63 days. The Terms of Reference for the consultancy services are fully reproduced in Annex C of this mission report.

5.3 Lake Ngardok Conservation Area

Following logistical and administrative preparations with PCS the previous week, the whole of Monday, 16th October 2006, was devoted to reconnaissance field survey work within the Lake Ngardok Conservation Area. Lake Ngardok is the largest natural lake in Micronesia. The name “Ngardok” means “living spring” in Palauan. The lake and its surrounding wetlands are important nesting habitat for the saltwater crocodile (ius) and are home to many species of Palau’s native and endemic birds, especially the native gray duck (debar), native Micronesian pigeon (belochel) and the endemic Palau fantail (melimdelebteb).

Lake Ngardok is east of Rael Kedam, the central ridge and principal catchment divide (watershed) of Babeldaob, less than 2 miles northwest of Melekeok. The lake is part of the headwaters of the North Fork of Ngerdorch River – see Figure 1. Ngerdorch River, with a drainage area of almost 18 mi2, is the largest perennial stream in Palau(3). The drainage area upstream of the lake outlet is 1.66 mi2 and the highest elevation in the drainage area is 590 ft, near Mount Ometochel. The main channel length from the headwaters to the outlet is about 2.22 mi with an average slope of 0.014 ft/ft.

Figure 1. Melekeok State physiography, showing State boundary (black), Lake Ngardok and Ngerdorch River (dark blue) and route of Compact Road (light blue).

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Geologically, about 76% of the Lake Ngardok catchment is underlain by the Formation. The remainder of the drainage area is underlain by the Babelthuap Formation (20%) and alluvium (4%). The Aimeliik Formation is Eocene in age (38 to 58 million years old) and consists of andesitic-basaltic volcanic breccias and tuff. The upper layers are deeply weathered to depths up to 10 ft, with weathered breccia covering 58% and weathered tuff covering 18% of the drainage basin(4). The Babelthuap Formation is also Eocene in age and consists of massive basaltic- andesitic volcanic breccia with tuff breccia and a layer of interbedded tuff. This formation is found in the higher elevations of the drainage basin along the Rael Kedam around Mount Ometochel and is not as deeply weathered as the rocks of Aimeliik Formation. Alluvium is found in the floodplain of the Ngerdorch River.

In 1956, a US Army Engineers report (4) noted that Lake Ngardok was created by a natural dam formed of alluvial deposits from a small tributary. The source of the deposits was stated to be a large quantity of clay eroded during heavy rains. The reconnaissance visit completed on the 16th October 2006, allowed inspection of the ground conditions between the lake outlet and the compact road to the northeast. The pathway from the USGS rain gauge site down to the lake outlet area follows a prominent, steep-sided linear ridge of very poorly vegetated ground – see Figure 2. Although heavily weathered, the varied, trace structural orientations of blocks of rock of many different sizes exposed within the ridge surface bear witness to deposition in a chaotic and disturbed environment, resulting in a very rough, hummocky terrain. The combination of these factors, the linear persistence and the remarkably sharp boundaries demarcating the base of the ridge are strongly suggestive that this topographic feature has its origins as a high-energy debris flow. Such features are not uncommonly associated with dynamic tropical environments where intense and prolonged rainfall events can exacerbate already saturated ground conditions to mobilise deeply weathered soils and rock horizons, causing a catastrophic, instantaneous rapid mass movement. Such gravity flows typically occur down side-tributary valleys and can travel hundreds of metres before suddenly depositing their loads as they disgorge and lose energy entering shallower gradient areas such as a main valley. Not infrequently, the debris flow will have sufficient impetus to completely cross a larger watercourse, suddenly and effectively creating a dam with the deposited debris-sediment load. The field evidence is suggestive that this is what has occurred historically (or geologically older) to dam the Ngerdorch River, subsequently allowing the development of Ngardok Lake.

Figure 2. Poorly vegetated, strongly linear, steep-sided ridge extending to the outlet zone of Ngardok Lake; postulated to be a debris flow responsible for creating a natural dam, resulting in the development of the lake.

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In 1997, the State of Melekeok signed a law creating the Ngardok Nature Reserve, encompassing Lake Ngardok, its surrounding watershed, and portion of the downstream river. This law also established the 5-member Melekeok Nature Reserve Board, who are appointed by the Governor and High Chief Reklai. Their role is to advise the Governor in the management of the Reserve. The Reserve Board wrote a Management Plan(5) that guides activities in the Reserve. A Conservation Plan(6) was also written that describes a programme to help minimise erosion and sedimentation within the watershed. The authors of the Conservation Plan believe that the 16 acres of bare land within the Reserve are a result of frequent burning that destroys the vegetation and degrades the soil making it difficult for plants to grow. The elimination of fires is essential to stopping soil erosion within the Reserve. It is apparent from Figure 3 and Figure 4 that soil erosion poses a significant problem and the suspended sediment loading in runoff represents a particular threat to the water quality of the lake.

Figure 3. Severe soil erosion is evident in many areas within the Lake Ngardok catchment.

The Ngardok Nature Reserve has an area of 1500 acres (6 km2 or 2 mi2), approximately 18% of the land area of Melekeok State. The Reserve boundaries follow the watershed ridges defining the catchment. In 2002, Lake Ngardok became the first site in Micronesia to be listed as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The goal of this international convention is to protect representative types of wetland habitats around the world.

The Reserve was established to maintain the lake as a source of high quality water; to provide for education and enjoyment for residents and visitors; to maintain the ecological integrity of the lake and its natural habitats; to protect native plants and animals in the watershed; and to provide for research opportunities. The Reserve contains the lake, wetlands, freshwater streams, swamp forest, palm forests and savanna habitats. Swamp forest is one of the rarest forest types in Palau, since most of these wetland areas have been converted to taro patches. The Ngardok Nature Reserve has approximately 29 acres of this unique forest type, making it the largest swamp forest area in Palau. Species common in swamp forests are pandanus, Horsfeldia amklaal, Cynometra ramiflora. Dominant marsh sedges are Hanguana malayana and Scleria laevis. There are about 185 acres of savanna in the Reserve. The soils in these areas are poor in nutrients and do not support very many species of plants. As previously noted, often these areas are subject to erosion (Figure 3 and Figure 4), leading to a further loss of nutrients and soils. Ferns and grasses are the most abundant species, with a few native irises and some small shrubs. Some traditional medicinal plants are also found in savannas and grasslands. The shoreline of Lake Ngardok is

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completely surrounded by freshwater marshes. These marshes have floating vegetated mats of Hanguana malayana, a reed-like plant – see Figure 5.

Figure 4. General westerly view across the Lake Ngardok catchment, showing typical terrain with sparsely vegetated hillside; Lake Ngardok is just visible upper-centre left of picture.

Figure 5. Lake Ngardok showing typical fringing, vegetated mat of Hanguana malayana.

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The USGS reported(2) a bathymetric survey conducted during March and April 1996; from the resultant bathymetric map, reproduced in Figure 6, the total storage capacity of Lake Ngardok was computed to be between 90 and 168 acre-feet (approximately 111,000 to 207,000 m3). The lake is 17 feet (5 m) deep at the deepest point; Rainfall and lake-elevation data collected from April 1996 to March 1998 indicated that lake levels correlated to rainfall values, with lake elevation rising rapidly in response to heavy rainfall and then returning to normal levels within a few days. The collected data enabled the creation of elevation-surface area and elevation- capacity curves summarising the current relations among elevation, surface area, and storage capacity. The mean lake elevation for the 22-month period of data was 59.5 feet, which gives a mean storage capacity of 107 acre-feet (approx 132,000 m3) and a mean surface area of 24.1 acre. It was noted that the floating mat of reeds (Figure 5), which covered 58% of the lake surface area at the time of the bathymetric survey, made true storage capacity difficult to estimate.

Figure 6. Bathymetry of Lake Ngardok in 1996 (after USGS (2)).

Water-quality sampling undertaken during April 1996 and November 1997 indicated(2) that for the organic and inorganic compounds and radionuclides analysed, no U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking-water standards were violated, and it was considered that with suitable biological treatment, the lake water could be used for drinking-water purposes. Temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements indicated that Lake Ngardok is stratified. Given that air temperature on Palau exhibits little seasonal variation, it is likely that this pattern of stratification is persistent. As a result, complete mixing of the lake is probably rare. Near anaerobic conditions exist at the lake bottom. Low dissolved oxygen concentrations of 3.2 mg/l, measured at the

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outflow, indicated that water flowing past the outflow was from the deep oxygen-depleted depths of the lake. Values of Specific Conductance, a measure of ionic concentrations in water, were also measured and ranged from 41 to 61 mS/cm. However, no systematic variation across the lake or with depth was observed and these values are quite low, probably indicating a negligible component of groundwater seepage or inflow to the lake, which would typically impart higher ionic concentrations.

During the course of the walkover survey completed on 16/10/06, various remnants of the USGS hydrological monitoring stations were seen – see Figure 7 through to Figure 10 – primarily the external protective casings for instrumentation housing, which generally appeared not to be beyond rehabilitation.

Figure 7. USGS Ngardok Rain Gauge (073037134361570).

Figure 8. USGS Stream Gauge (16891420) North Fork Ngardok River, positioned just downstream of the outlet of Lake Ngardok.

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Figure 9. USGS lake-stage gauge (16891425), near the outlet of Lake Ngardok.

Figure 10. USGS Stream Gauge (16891428) North Fork Ngardok River, below Compact Road – site totally derelict.

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As previously noted within Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of this report, in consultation with the Project Steering Committee it was decided that the EDF9 Project could most usefully support a specialist consultancy (see TOR in Annex C) to provide a detailed review of the condition of these hydrological monitoring assets remaining on-site. The consultancy will identify the potential for recovery and reuse, or recommend write-off as appropriate. Diagnostic reports will be produced to also identify existing site access arrangements or restrictions, associated site ownership, leasehold or site security issues, health and safety and any other pertinent factors to be taken into consideration. Completion of this phase will then allow development of detailed Specifications, Drawings and a Bill of Quantities to identify the engineering site works, rehabilitation and technical re-instrumentation necessary to achieve 100% operational efficiency at each individual monitoring station location.

5.4 Water Supply and Sewerage in Melekeok State

Following logistical and administrative preparations with CIP the previous week, the whole of Tuesday, 17th October 2006, was devoted to a reconnaissance field survey review of the water supply and sanitation issues within Melekeok State, particularly pertaining to the new national Capital complex. Coincidentally during the two weeks of this in-country mission, staff of the principal ROP government ministries were just beginning to transfer from their old government buildings in Koror into their new administrative office complexes in Melekeok.

5.4.1 Water Supply System

A schematic representation of the recently upgraded water supply system serving the new national Capital buildings and Melekeok village is presented in Figure 11. The raw, primary water supply is abstracted from a wetwell adjacent to the Ngardok North Fork River, approximately 2.5 km downstream of Lake Ngardok and a few hundred metres upstream of the Compact Road crossing of the river. The positioning of the water supply intake thus displays the triple benefits of being:

• safely upstream of any contaminated runoff or spillage associated with the new road drainage; • being downstream of the buffering “reservoir” storage provided by Lake Ngardok, providing a reasonably steady flow volume; and also • being downstream of the buffering “reservoir” storage provided by the lake, allowing settlement of excess sediment loading and other natural treatment processes, thus providing outflow of reasonably good quality water derived from the protected catchment.

Following abstraction, the raw water is passed through a rapid sand filter, hypo-chlorinated and stored prior to being pumped up into the main 0.5 M gallon storage tank that lies below ground level directly in front of the domed Capitol building. Water from this tank is again filtered and transferred to an adjacent 30 k gallon tank, prior to going under pressure direct into the capital buildings. A service line from the main tank also carries the supply down to Melekeok Village. During periods of heavy rain, rainwater can also be harvested from the northern roof area (200 ft x 40 ft = 8,000 ft2) of the main capital building to contribute, through a manually-operated series of valves, directly into the main 0.5 M gallon storage tank

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Figure 11. Schematic of water supply system for new national Capital complex and Melekeok village, Babeldaob.

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5.4.2 Water Demand Assessment

The original water supply system in Melekeok State was completed by the Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 1986 to serve a small population of only 255 people (which had declined by 17.7% since the 1957 census), and originally had no water treatment or disinfection facilities. Population projections made at that time by consulting engineers(7) for a water supply design year of 2011, assumed annual average growth rates of 5% per annum between 1986 and 1996, and 3.5% per annum between 1996 and 2011. Along with the anticipated influx of people to the new Palau National Capital, a very high population estimate of 5000 persons was quoted for 2011 by the State. Based upon a water demand design standard of 165 gallons per capita per day, an average daily demand of 825,000 gallons was therefore predicted (equivalent to 573 gallons per minute [gpm]).

The predicted seven-day low flow for the North Fork Ngardok River at the Melekeok pump station intake was originally assessed (Nance, 1986; Appendix B of ref (7)) to range from 815 gpm (4.3 Ml/d) to 1,150 gpm (6.2 Ml/d) during a two-year drought, declining to 420 gpm (2.2 Ml/d) to 690 gpm (3.7 Ml/d) during a five-year drought. These stream flows would clearly provide a supply adequate to meet the projected demand during all but the most severe of droughts.

A more recent hydrological impact assessment(8) completed in 2000 reviewed and combined the available river flow, lake storage, rainfall and other climatological data for input into a daily incremental water balance model for Lake Ngardok, coupled to a simple daily watershed yield model. The model output generated synthetic daily streamflows for the North Fork Ngardok River at the pump station and is summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Summary of Model River Flows at Pump Station (from (8)).

Flow Level % of days flow is equalled or Synthetic low flow at N.Fork Ngardok exceeded in the river pump station Normal flow (“median flow”) 50% 9.0 ML/d Low flow 90% 5.5 Ml/d Very low flow 95% 4.8 Ml/d Extremely low flow 99% 3.3 M/ld Probable lowest on record 2.6 M/ld

By comparison with the earlier (1986) water demand assessment(7), this (2000) assessment(8) projected the two population demand scenarios below:

• An initial (2005) population of 3218 persons consuming an average 70 US gpd and 500 workers consuming 20 US gpd – totalling 235,000 US gpd or 0.89 Ml/d.

• A maximum (2025) population of 3927 persons consuming an average 70 US gpd – totalling 275,000 US gpd or 1.04 Ml/d

It may be concluded that the modelled flow in the river at the pump station always exceeds these demand scenarios and there is a very low probability of the predicted water supply demand not being available from the river on a run-of-river basis, even at very low flows. The model predicted no impact to water levels within Lake Ngardok due to the various abstraction rates proposed. A weir was however recommended to provide suitable storage during low-flow conditions and high pump duty cycle periods. The model predicted that the highest risk of reduced water levels during low-flow periods would be the 3 km of river and freshwater marshes downstream of the abstraction point, until the confluence with the next major tributary.

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5.4.3 Sewerage System

A USD $2.4 M sewerage system has been installed to service the new national Capital buildings and Melekeok Village based upon a modern Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant installed and commissioned by Taiwan FREEAIR Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd. This water reclamation system is based upon a maximum design inflow (influent) rate of 39,000 of sewage per day, computed as follows:

1.5x [(1000 capital office staff @ 10 gpd) + (100 village households x 4 people/household x 40 gpd)]

Membrane biological reactors (MBR) combine activated sludge treatment with a membrane liquid- solid separation process. The membrane component utilises low-pressure microfiltration or ultra filtration membranes and eliminates the need for clarifaction and tertiary filtration. The membranes are typically immersed in the aeration tank (however some applications utilise a separate membrane tank). One of the key benefits of a membrane bioreactor system is that it effectively overcomes the limitations associated with poor settling of sludge in conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. The elevated biomass concentration in the membrane bioreactor process allows for very effective removal of both soluble and particulate biodegradable materials at higher loading rates. The cost of building and operating a MBR is usually higher than conventional wastewater treatment, however, as the technology has become increasingly popular and has gained wider acceptance throughout the industry, the life-cycle costs have been steadily decreasing. Also, in developed urban areas or sensitive environments, where the footprint of the treatment plant or effluent discharge are considered limiting factors, MBR facilities can be considered a desirable option.

Figure 12. Schematic of sewage disposal system of new national Capital complex and Melekeok Village, Babeldaob.

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The treatment process, schematically illustrated in Figure 12, produces a dried sludge and high quality liquid effluent. The liquid effluent is not discharged to the marine environment via a long sea outfall, but is locally re-circulated by being pumped up to an elevated storage tank above the village – see Figure 13 – from whence it is gravitated back through narrow diameter pipes to nearby fields (for crop irrigation use) and the village houses (for reuse in garden watering, car washing etc).

Figure 13. Storage tank for reclaimed wastewater, sited above Melekeok Village.

With respect to other sanitation systems, the number of septic tank soakaway systems installed for wastewater disposal in Melekeok State between 01st October 1995 and 30th September 2006 was assessed from the EQPB records of “earthmoving permits” as follows: • residential (75); • commercial (12); • non-profit (32); and • total 119.

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6. KEY RESULT AREA 2 – TASK REVIEW

As is apparent from Section 5 of this report, there is a reasonable body of historic information, both direct or indirect reference material, concerning water resource issues and catchment management approaches with respect to Melekeok State on Babeldaob. The majority of previous reports appear to derive either from private engineering consultancies or have been generated as a result of USGS or USDA research work. Palau Conservation Society in particular holds a significant and comprehensive electronic database of scanned reference documentation relating to many aspects of Palau’s aquatic environment, including flora and fauna, geology, hydrology, engineering and EIA studies, heritage and cultural issues.

Other than the recent Water Safety Plan project(9), whose work is concentrating upon the Koror- public water supply system, no previous SOPAC reports recording water sector interventions are noted. This is perhaps not unexpected, given that ROP only assumed full membership status of SOPAC in 2003.

As a consequence of the October 2006 mission, the KRA2 Water intervention tasks within the draft Palau Work Plan have been reviewed and are presented in Table 2, along with approximate timeframes for their execution.

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Table 2. Summary of EDF9 KRA2 Water Intervention Tasks for Melekeok State, Palau.

KRA 2 Task No. and Description Short-term (1-3 months) Medium term (4-12 months) Long term (greater than 12 months)

PW 2.1 – Develop catchment management KRA2 reconnaissance mission Initiate TOR/EOI, tender evaluation and Identify requirements to rehabilitate and re-equip approach to planning and development. completed October 2006. award Consultancy for provision of gauging stations, with post-2007 support and Hydrological Monitoring Services on longer term sustainability anticipated from the Babeldoab. SOPAC/HYCOS Project Future Regular Provide administration and supervision of hydrological monitoring and functioning database the consultancy works. storage and analysis capability in place with EQPB. PW 2.2 – Review appropriate effluent disposal KRA2 reconnaissance mission Complete and distribute KRA2 Mission Not required. methods. completed October 2006. Report ER 82. PW 2.3 – Review water resource options for new KRA2 reconnaissance mission Complete and distribute KRA2 Mission Not required. capital supply. completed October 2006. Report ER 82. PW 2.4 – Review Melekeok water demand KRA2 reconnaissance mission Complete and distribute KRA2 Mission Not required. assessment and Lake Ngardok wetland completed October 2006. Report ER 82. ecosystem issues. PW 2.5 – Review national laboratory capability SOPAC/WHO Water Safety Plan EQPB delegate(s) funded to attend Enhanced water quality monitoring capability and for WQM; sub-regional workshop participation. workshop completed in Koror in capacity building Water Quality functioning database storage and analysis in place October 2006. Monitoring sub-regional workshop in with EQPB. Guam, July 2007. PW.2.6 – Liaise with Country Intern to ensure all KRA2 reconnaissance mission No appointment of EDF9 CI achieved to- Longer-term water sector support anticipated from country water sector data uploaded to the completed October 2006 further date (May 2007) by Palau. the SOPAC/HYCOS and IWRM Projects. GeoCMS. encouraged Palau to appoint CI and HYCOS focal point formally identified by in-country HYCOS focal point. Palau.

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7. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

(1) Booth, S., 2006: Republic of Palau – Proceedings of the 1ST Palau Multi-Stakeholder Consultations, Bureau of Lands and Surveys, Ministry of Resources and Development (Koror), 14th November and 21st November 2004. EU-SOPAC (EDF9) Project Report 64. SOPAC Secretariat, Suva. (2) Yeung, C.W., and Wong, M.F., 1999: Storage capacity and water quality of Lake Ngardok, Babeldaob Island, Republic of Palau, 1996-98: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4118, 26 p. (3) van der Brug, Otto, 1984: Water resources of the Palau Islands: U.S. Geological Survey Water- Resources Investigations Report 83-4140, 223 p. (4) U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, 1956: Military geology of the Palau Islands, Caroline Islands: Intelligence Division, Office of the Engineer Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces Far East, 285 p. (5) Melekeok Nature Reserve Board. 1998: Management Plan for Ngardok Nature Reserve, Melekeok State, Republic of Palau. In accordance with Melekeok State Public Law 4-21. 19 p. (6) DeMeo, Robin, 2003: Conservation Plan for Ngardok Nature Reserve, Melekeok, Palau. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. (7) Barrett Consulting Group Inc., 1986: Community meetings, site investigation and basis of design report, Palau Rural Water Systems Project, Ministry of National Resources. (8) Golder Associates, 2000: Report No 00639012, Appendix G – Hydrology and Freshwater Ecology Impact Assessment. (9) SOPAC/WHO 2007: Water Safety Plan Report, in prep.

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ANNEXES

A Summary Mission Itinerary

B SOPAC/WHO Water Safety Plan Workshop Programme

C Terms of Reference (TOR) for “Provision of Hydrological Monitoring Support Services to the Republic of Palau”

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ANNEX A

Summary Mission Itinerary

EDF9 – KRA2

Wednesday, 4 October 2006 Travel Suva-Nadi

Thursday, 5 October 2006 Travel Nadi – Brisbane – Manila

Friday, 6 October 2006 – Saturday, 7 October 2006 Travel Manila – Palau

WEEK 1 PALAU

Sunday, 8 October 2006 Reconnaissance of Koror-Arai WTW with WSP team

Monday, 9 October 2006 Day 1 opening of WSP Workshop – attend and deliver EDF9 presentation

Tuesday, 10 October 2006 Trying to get laptop fixed Deliver EDF9 presentation to Palau EDF9 Steering Committee and emphasise urgency of Country Intern and HYCOS nominee requirements

Wednesday, 11 October 2006 Laptop motherboard probably dead Mostly at EQPB on email, ref laptop loan options from Mitesh/WHO- initially approved, then not withdrawn! Set up meetings with PCS and CRRF Continue to ppresure EQPB ref HYCOS nomination

Thursday, 12 October 2006 Set up and brief meeting with CIP Richard Mangham Meet PCS-Eliz Matthews – capture/download all av. Reports

Friday, 13 October 2006 Laptop temporarily working again Logitistical arrangements with PCS for next week fieldtrip to Ngardok Lake CIP-Rick and Benjamin ref Melekeok State WS&S Attend Day 5 WSP closing ceremony chaired by Governor of Peleliu. Return to CIP offices to copy/capture drawings and construction reports ref new Capitol works

WEEK 2 PALAU

Monday, 16 October 2006 Melekeok – Ngardok Lake & catchment site visit with PCS Colin Joseph and Edwin Palloi and Shallom. Also meet Robin deMeo on site USSCS Inspect Gauging Stations and rain gauge EQPB emails – HYCOS Brisbane cancelled

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Tuesday, 17 October 2006 Melekeok WS&S with CIP Ben Ascuncion Courtesy call on SOPAC MCR Isaac Soaladaob in new Capitol Buildings Meet Annie Kitalong – discuss EDF9, CI position and HYCOS possibilities

Wednesday, 18 October 2006 Accompany EQPB Lab staff on routine sampling trip to Peleliu infiltration gallery

Thursday, 19 October 2006 Data capture from CRRF, Julian Dandy (Pat Collen) Attend WSP Steering Committee meeting and again stress EDF9 issues, HYCOS opportunities, Country Intern requirements etc. Data capture (stream gauging & r/f ) from Robin de Meo, USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Friday, 20 October 2006 Travel – Palau – Yap – Guam – Truk – Pohnpei – Kosrae – Kwajalein – Majuro

[EU-SOPAC Project Report 82 – Booth] EU EDF-SOPAC Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States Republic of Palau KRA 2 (Water) Country Mission, October 2006 – 29

ANNEX B

SOPAC/WHO Water Safety Plan Workshop Programme

PACIFIC WATER SAFETY PLAN PROGRAMME

NATIONAL TRAINING & PLANNING WORKSHOP

Republic of Palau 9 – 13 October 2006

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

Monday 9th Tuesday 10th Wednesday 11th Thursday 12th Friday 13th

Planning to 8.30 8.30 Developing 8.30 8.30 Registration 8.30 Manage the Preparations for Field Trip Activity/ risks Presentation to Responsibility 9.00 Workshop National Water Matrix for WSP Opening Resource Implementation Committee

Koror-Airai Water 10.30 Morning Tea Supply 10.30 Morning Tea 10.30 Morning Tea 10.30 Morning Tea system Planning to Presentation of 11.00 11.00 Manage the 11.00 Developing 11.00 Introduction to National Plan and Risks (Cont...) Activity/ Palau Water next steps to the Responsibility Supplies Government Matrix for WSP Delegation by the Implementation National Steering Improvement (cont…) Committee Schedule

12.30 Workshop Closing

1.00 Lunch 1.00 Lunch 1.00 Lunch 1.00 Lunch 1.00 Lunch Developing

Activity/ 2.00 Introduction to 2.00 System 2.00 Developing 2.00 Responsibility Water Safety Description Activity/ Matrix for Plans and Analysis Responsibility WSP End of Day Matrix for WSP Preparation Review and

Evaluation

Afternoon 3.00 Afternoon Tea 3.00 3.00 Afternoon Tea 3.00 Afternoon Tea Tea Developing Risk Activity/ 3.30 Introduction to 3.30 3.30 Identification Responsibility Water Safety and Ranking Matrix for Presentation to Planning 3.30 WSP National Steering Process Preparation Committee

(Cont)

4.00 Technical

Presentations

4.30 End of Day 4.30 End of Day 4.30 End of Day 4.30 End of Day

[EU-SOPAC Project Report 82 – Booth] EU EDF-SOPAC Reducing Vulnerability of Pacific ACP States Republic of Palau KRA 2 (Water) Country Mission, October 2006 – 30

ANNEX C

Terms of Reference (TOR) for “Provision of Hydrological Monitoring Support Services to the Republic of Palau”

CONTEXT

The completion and opening of the circuminsular “Compact Road” on Babeldaob and subsequent transfer of the national capital administration to Melekeok State in 2006, clearly heralds increasingly significant development planning issues for Palau. Future demographic changes and anticipated increases in associated agricultural activity, building, tourism developments and changing land use practices, will all place increased stress on the available water resources.

It is therefore considered essential that a representative hydrological monitoring network be maintained on the island of Babeldaob, to enable assessment of impacts on the aquatic environment and facilitate planning and sustainable management of the finite water resources.

Sustainable utilisation of water resources requires long-term information so that trends can be defined, problems discovered, corrective actions taken, and predictive models to be developed for future development or abstraction scenarios. Knowledge of rainfall and runoff is critically necessary, not least for the following: – • the prediction and assessment of water supply availability, • predicting the risks and effects of low flow or drought conditions, • predicting the risks and effects of flood hazards, • the estimation of groundwater recharge, • understanding groundwater/surface water interactions in environmentally sensitive wetland conservation areas (e.g. Ngardok Lake), • understanding and combating excessive erosion and sedimentation, • designing wastewater disposal systems • managing fisheries or other instream biological needs • mitigating adverse water quality/contamination issues • the design and operation of reservoirs • the design and operation of diversions for water supply and power generation.

Phase 1 – Activities & Deliverables

1. On behalf of and via liaison through the Environmental Quality Protection Board (EQPB), Republic of Palau, the Consultant will undertake collection, collation and technical audit of existing hydrological data and review of all associated water resources monitoring historically undertaken by USGS within the island of Babeldaob. Hydrologic data collection on Palau by the USGS started in the 1960’s for streamflow and in the 1970’s for rainfall. Some of this data is known to be available electronically in Excel format, though the Consultant must ascertain directly from USGS (suggested initial contact is the Pacific Islands Water Science Centre Data Manager – [email protected] ) for the full range and scope of data availability and allow for any re-formatting required. The Consultant will liaise with USGS, EQPB and other key stakeholder organisations as appropriate to obtain all available previous rainfall, lake stage or river discharge raw data for the hydrological stations located in Figure 1, further detailed in Table.

No agency in Palau is currently mandated with responsibility for quantitive collection, monitoring and management of national water resource data. From the outset therefore, and during subsequent tasks of this TOR, the Consultant should particularly review existing

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institutional capacities to enable recommendation of the mandate required to ensure statutory support and potential funding avenues available for future hydrological monitoring activities. The Consultant should scope and report on a range of possible options and the inherent risks involved with each – opportunities may lie either within government or non-government institutions, or indeed private sector organisations.

2. The Consultant will procure and provide appropriate hydrological software (TIDEDA) and upload to local database; undertake hydrological analysis of the complete historic data set available for each gauging station and provide local counterpart training in methodology and analytical techniques.

3. The Consultant shall undertake field survey investigations at each individual hydrological monitoring station previously operated by USGS to enable: – (a) detailed review of condition of any assets remaining on-site, identifying potential for recovery and reuse, or recommendation for write-off. Diagnostic reports to also identify existing site access arrangements or restrictions, associated site ownership, leasehold or site security issues, Health & Safety factors that require to be taken into consideration, and any other pertinent factors; all to be fully supported by digital photographic records as appropriate; (b) development of detailed Specification, Drawings and Bill of Quantities to cover the engineering site works rehabilitation and technical re-instrumentation necessary to achieve 100% operational efficiency at each individual monitoring station location.

4. The Consultant will collate 3(a) and 3(b) into a comprehensive Interim Report and also provide a draft Cabinet briefing paper and presentation to key in-country stakeholders on the results and use of the surveys and assessments. The Interim Report should make concise recommendations on options for the most sustainable way forward for hydrological service provision within Babeldaob, inclusive of network rationalisation opportunities and particularly noting the following: – o site works rehabilitation and engineering needs o technical re-instrumentation requirements o institutional strengthening and personnel training needs o recurring Operation & Maintenance factors, and o for each of the abovementioned, incorporate all relevant (indicative) budget estimates. The Cabinet Briefing Paper should not only emphasise the key aspects of the Executive Summary of the Interim Report, but most importantly also make a positive recommendation as to the most beneficial organisation to be mandated with responsibility for national water resource monitoring. Indicative annual staffing and equipment budget requirements should also be presented.

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Figure 1. Location of USGS hydrological stations on Babeldaob, Palau.

Table 1. USGS hydrological station details on Babeldaob, Palau.

Stream Gauges 16890600 Diongradid River 16891310 Kmekumel River 16890900 Tabecheding River 16890850 Tabecheding River above Compact Road 16891420 North Fork Ngerdok River near Melekeok 16891428 North Fork Ngerdok River below Compact Road 16891400 South Fork Ngerdorch River

Stage Gauge 16891425 Ngerdok Lake near Melekeok

Rain Gauges 072252134330770 Airai Rain Gage 072701134314570 Ngatpang Rain Gage near Tabecheding Falls 073037134361570 Ngerdok Rain Gage near Melekeok 073335134341070 Mt. Ngerechelechuus Rain Gage 074112134375070 Ngerchelong Peninsula Rain Gage

(Both Figure 1 & Table 1 sourced from: – http://hi.water.usgs.gov/palau/index.html)

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Phase 2 – Activities and Deliverables

5. Progress to Phase 2 works will be dependent upon commitment by the Republic of Palau to:– • internally mandate future support to ensure sustainability of hydrological monitoring services, and • provide formal approval regarding the acceptable scale of rationalisation and rehabilitation works to be undertaken for the hydrological monitoring network. Prior to equipment procurement, the Consultant shall confer closely with SOPAC-HYCOS staff ([email protected]) regarding “Pacific-wide” hydrological equipment standardisation needs and compatibility issues. Subsequent to receipt of SOPAC-HYCOS project approval, the Consultant shall proceed to arrange and provide the following services:– (a) all necessary equipment procurement, site engineering and installation. (b) all necessary equipment testing and commissioning, and (c) throughout the above processes, provide local counterpart training in operational set-up and maintenance methodologies, inclusive of data collection, monitoring and analytical techniques.

6. Develop and provide a Final Report which includes a comprehensive summary of all the major outcomes of the activities undertaken (as detailed in Section 1.5 of the Letter of Agreement). The Final Report shall be fully supported by comprehensive photographic records, technical drawings and an O&M manual (inclusive of comprehensive “troubleshooting” advice) as appropriate to detail the as-built hydrological monitoring scheme at each site. The Consultant will also organise and conduct a workshop (not exceeding 3-days total duration) in Palau to present to all key stakeholders the primary elements of the hydrological monitoring scheme. The workshop shall include a single fieldtrip incorporating a visit to each of the newly-installed monitoring stations, maximising the community awareness raising and media opportunities, as well as completing a formal hand-over ceremony of the operational hydrological monitoring scheme to the Government of the Republic of Palau.

[EU-SOPAC Project Report 82 – Booth]