In past years, Tuvalu has battled with sanitation and environmental issues caused by ‘borrow’ pits that were dug on the Funafuti atoll during World War II to aid in building an airstrip. Tidal movements resulted in rubbish as well as human and pig waste collecting in the pits and seeping through the porous coral floor and into the lagoon. This was not only unsanitary, but also increased the amount of nutrients and heavy metals entering the lagoon, causing significant damage to coral communities and ecosystem function.

Hall Pacific was engaged in 2015 to dredge more than 365,000m3 of sand from a local lagoon to fill the pits. In doing so, our team increased the useable land space in the area by eight percent, creating more open space to be used by the community. The works also minimised pollution and improved hygiene levels on the atoll.

As part of this project, our team also constructed a sandbag wall to protect against coastal erosion on Funafuti. This effectively repaired a breach in the coral atoll, removing the threat of the atoll splitting in two.