Abstract
Since the end of the Cambodian Civil War in 1998, the population of the Oddar Meanchey province has drastically increased despite the lack of adequate infrastructure, including basic amenities such as drinking-water supply. To improve the access to drinking water, governmental and aid agencies have focussed on drilling shallow boreholes. The use of groundwater for irrigation is also a growing concern to cope with the occasional late arrival of the rainy season or to produce food during the dry season. Since the groundwater resource in the province has not been documented, a 4-year study was undertaken (2011–2014), aiming to estimate the capability of groundwater to supply domestic needs and supplementary irrigation for rice production. Aquifer properties were estimated by combined use of hydrogeological techniques with the geophysical magnetic resonance sounding method. Groundwater storage and recharge were estimated based on new developments in the application of the geophysical method for quantifying specific yield. The median groundwater storage of the targeted sandstone aquifer is 173 mm, the recharge is diffuse and annually ranges from 10 to 70 mm, and the transmissivity is low to medium. Simulations of pumping indicate that the aquifer can easily supply 100 L of drinking water per capita daily, even considering the estimated population in 2030. However, the shallow aquifer can generally not deliver enough water to irrigate paddy fields of several hectares during a 2-month delay in the onset of the monsoon.
Highlights
At the moment, about 34 % of rural inhabitants of Cambodia do not have access to safe drinking water (WHO and UNICEF 2014 ) and 15–25 % of the population is undernourished (WFP 2014)
This report aims at improving the knowledge on groundwater potential for both the drinking-water supply and supplementary irrigation in Oddar Meanchey Province, in order to support the implementation of activities of governmental and aid agencies
The study was implemented over a 4-year period (2011–2014) and combined several methods including statistical analysis of a database of 211 wells, geophysics and pumping tests at nine experimental sites, 79 measurements of magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) to complement aquifer properties, estimation of recharge from the monitoring of 12 piezometers, two piezometric campaigns at 36 locations, and water isotopes analyses from 24 wells and rainfall
Summary
About 34 % of rural inhabitants of Cambodia do not have access to safe drinking water (WHO and UNICEF 2014 ) and 15–25 % of the population is undernourished (WFP 2014). Newcomers to Oddar Meanchey province found almost no drinking-water infrastructures: in 1998, only 2.5 % of the population had access to a protected water source, while the national rate was about 30 % (National Institute of Statistics 2009). For their domestic supply, people harvest rainwater
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
