Correction: Carrard, N., et al. Groundwater as a Source of Drinking Water in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: A Multi-Country Review of Current Reliance and Resource Concerns. Water 2019, 11, 1605

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [1]:

Following publication of the manuscript, the authors were contacted by Mr Shaun Kies-Ryan, a hydrogeologist working in the Solomon Islands urban water sector. Mr Kies-Ryan provided updated data and advice regarding sources of water used by Solomon Water to supply urban areas in the Solomon Islands’ four largest cities: Honiara, Auki, Tulagi and Noro. New information suggests that a much larger proportion of piped water in urban Solomon Islands is sourced from groundwater than was reported in the paper. The figures reported in the paper were based on 2007 reports, and at the time of research the authors were not able to acquire updated, verified data. We would like to correct the manuscript to include the updated data, which indicates that 61%—rather than the originally reported 18%—of the Solomon Islands’ urban populations are drinking water sourced from groundwater.

The corrected data does not change the main messages of the paper in any way, but it does require updates to reported findings and related figures in order to ensure the accuracy of the information presented.

This update requires the following corrections to be made to the manuscript and Supplementary Material.

1. Change in Abstract

The reported average urban population using water sourced from groundwater should be 66% instead of the reported 62%. Note that min and max values, and overall associated population figures do not change.

2. Change in Main Body Paragraphs

Section 3.1, first paragraph: replace the reported average urban groundwater reliance figure of 62% with the correct revised figure of 66%.

Section 3.1, second paragraph: replace the sentence “Countries where piped water in urban areas was found to be wholly or substantially drawn from groundwater included Kiribati, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu with 67%, 65% and 68% of urban households respectively using piped water drawn from groundwater sources.” with the corrected text “Case study countries where piped water in urban areas was found to be wholly or substantially drawn from groundwater included Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Timor-Leste with 94%, 68%, 67% and 65% respectively of urban households using piped water drawn from groundwater sources.”

Section 3.1, third paragraph: replace the first clause of the sentence “For most case study countries, rates of reliance on groundwater for drinking were reasonably comparable across urban and rural areas, with two notable exceptions: Vanuatu, where urban rates of groundwater reliance were found to be almost four times higher than rural, and Cambodia” with the corrected text “For most case study countries, rates of reliance on groundwater for drinking were reasonably comparable across urban and rural areas, with three notable exceptions: Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, with much higher rates of urban groundwater reliance, and Cambodia...”.

Section 5, conclusions: replace the reported average urban groundwater reliance figure of 62% with the correct revised figure of 66%.

3. Change in Figures/Tables

Replace Figure 1 to reflect updated figures for the Solomon Islands.

with

Replace Solomon Islands data in Table 1.

In the ‘Piped’ column the figure for the Solomon Islands should be 58 (rather than 15) and in the ‘Total urban’ column the figure should be 61 (rather than 18).

Replace Figure 2 to reflect updated figures for the Solomon Islands.

with

4. Change in Acknowledgement

Add Shaun Kies-Ryan to the list of technical experts acknowledged.

5. Change in Supplementary Material

The above-mentioned changes also require correction in the Supplementary Material (Appendix A). These changes have been provided in an updated Microsoft Word document.