None of the Pacific Islands Countries are on track of achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, one in ten children do not have access to safe drinking water according to UNICEF. Access to water and sanitation in the Pacific is challenging due to their remoteness and the geographical isolation.
In 2025, a water quality campaign was conducted to assess drinking water quality indicators across four remote communities in Fiji. The findings revealed that many key water quality parameters did not meet the required thresholds for safe drinking water, placing these communities at health risk and highlighting a lack of access to the fundamental human right of safe water and sanitation.
Based on the water quality baseline data, this research project aims to develop a feasible engineering design to improve drinking water in these communities. The proposed solutions will consider the unique challenges of remoteness and isolation, as well as water availability and supply sources.
The research project is led by Dr Laura Montano, an associate lecturer of humanitarian engineering and expere in water engineering, and Dr. Edoardo Santagata, a renewable energy engineer with expertise in energy security and resilience and off-grid design implementation in remote communities.
School
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Area
Water and sanitation | Humanitarian engineering | Drinking water supply | Remote communities in the Pacific
Suitable for recognition of Work Integrated Learning (industrial training)?
To be discussed
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
This research is conducted in a strong intersdisciplinary research environment that supports work in humanitarian engineering, drinking water supply and sustainable infrastructure. The project builds on a recent water quality data collected in 2025 from four remote communities in Fiji.
The research is led by Dr Laura Montano, an Associate Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering with expertise in water engineering, and Dr. Edoardo Santagata, a renewable energy engineer with expertise in energy security, resilience and off-grid design implementation in remote communities. Their combined expertise provides a supervisory framework for addressing the technical and contextual challenges of water supply in remote settings.
The student will gain a strong understanding of water quality challenges and appropriate drinking water supply solutions for remote and resource-limited communities. This will result in expertise in humanitarian engineering principles and context-specific design considerations.
This knowledge will lead to the development of a feasible and context-appropriate engineering design for improving access to safe drinking water in the selected communities. The research will also generate practical insights into effective and sustainable water supply approaches for remote settings.
The outcomes of the project will be communicated with the partner communities in Fiji, with the aim of supporting future implementation and contributing to improved access to safe drinking water. More importantly, the project is expected to contribute to advancing sustainable water solutions in the Pacific region and support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Water and Sanitation).
