Editing Geography of Tuvalu (section)

===Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project===
When the airfield, which is now [[Funafuti International Airport]], was constructed during World War II. The coral base of the atoll was used as fill to create the runway. The resulting [[borrow pit]]s impacted the fresh-water [[aquifer]]. In the low areas of Funafuti the sea water can be seen bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools with each high tide.<ref name=ML2005>{{cite web| first=Monise |last=Laafai |url= http://www.tuvaluislands.com/photos/2006_tides/2006tides.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060419190352/http://www.tuvaluislands.com/photos/2006_tides/2006tides.html|url-status= usurped|archive-date= 19 April 2006|title=Funafuti King Tides | date = October 2005|access-date=14 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=MKM>{{cite web|first= Moya K.|last= Mason|url= http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html |title= Tuvalu: Flooding, Global Warming, and Media Coverage |access-date=13 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="AHK1">{{cite web| last = Holowaty Krales | first =Amelia | title= Chasing the Tides, parts I & II |date= 20 February 2011 |url=http://ameliaholowatykrales.blogspot.com.au/2011_02_01_archive.html|access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref> Since 1994 a project has been in development to assess the environmental impact of transporting sand from the lagoon to fill all the borrow pits and low-lying areas on [[Fongafale]]. In 2013 a feasibility study was carried out and in 2014 the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project was approved, so that all ten borrow pits would be filled, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond.<ref>{{cite web|last= Silafaga Lalua Melton|title= 73 years of waiting finally pays off for Funafuti | date =28 October 2014|url= https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=357292681098580&id=333658940128621&substory_index=0|publisher= Fenui News|access-date=1 April 2014}}</ref> The New Zealand Government funded the BPR project.<ref>{{cite web|title= Tuvalu to Benefit from International Dredging Aid| date =1 April 2014|url= http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=19459 |publisher= Dredging News|access-date=1 April 2014}}</ref> The project was carried out in 2015 with 365,000 sqm of sand being dredged from the lagoon to fill the holes and improve living conditions on the island. This project increased the usable land space on Fongafale by eight per cent.<ref>{{cite web |title= Coast contractor completes aid project in remote Tuvalu| date =27 November 2015|url= http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/coast-contractor-completes-aid-project-remote-tuva/2855272/|publisher= SunshineCoastDaily|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref>