Relative location

Small islands can be further categorised according to those which can be supplied from continental or large island sources via submarine pipeline or sea transport (tankers or barges), and those which have no practical means of supply other than from the island itself. Generally only those islands which are close to larger land masses (near-shore islands) can be considered in the first category. Most islands fall into the second category (oceanic islands). Some examples of water resources development for nearshore islands in the regions covered in this book include the use of submarine pipelines to supply water to the island of Penang, Malaysia, to resort islands on the Great Barrier Reef off the northeastern coast of Australia, to Manono Island from the main island of Upolu in Western Samoa, and to small offshore islands in the Solomon Islands using small diameter pipes; the use of inter-basin transfers to supply water to Singapore from the Malay Peninsular and the proposed use of such transfers to supply water to Malaysia from Batam and Bintang Islands in Indonesia; the use of ships used to export phosphates to import water as a return cargo to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean; and, the use of barges to supply water to the Bahamas under contract, and to some of the small islands of Fiji and Tonga.