CARIBBEAN/BARBADOS: Illegal Zone One Dumping Hazardous to Water Supply

ILLEGAL ZONE ONE DUMPING HAZARDOUS TO WATER SUPPLY

Barbados Advocate
July 23 2003
Internet: http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/NewViewNewsleft.cfm?Record=14373

CHIEF Environmental Officer Jeffrey Headley expressed his concern yesterday 
over the repeated cases of illegal dumping in Zone One areas - a situation 
which, if not curbed, could cause irreversible damage to one of Barbados' 
major wells, which currently accounts for 60 per cent of our island's ground 
water supply. 

Speaking at a press conference at the Town and Country Planning headquarters 
addressing the removal of illegal structures on the Zone One water table, he 
noted that there are a number of persons who are dumping illegally at night. 
This activity, he contends, is proving difficult to monitor, since at present 
there are no agencies or persons that are equipped to take on this massive 
responsibility. "There are no environmental inspectors, or litter wardens, or 
environmental police in Barbados, so that these persons could be identified 
... therefore it is easy for persons to dispose of the garbage along these 
dumping sites," he said. "It is a very serious problem which requires a 
massive educational programme in the first instance, and then we require the 
inspectors to carry out their duties." 

The chief environmental officer identified the Belle in St. Michael and 
Hampton in St. Phillip as two areas which are a cause for concern. He added 
that attempts to clear up these areas seem to be an exercise in futility, 
since they return to their original state within a short space of time. 
"Rather than setting it out for the Barbados Sanitation Authority's pickup 
day, they dump them anywhere they can find, which is very bad for the water 
quality," he stressed. He acknowledged that there are some instances where 
the garbage could be traced, referring to an incident approximately ten years 
ago, where a company placed the onus on a contractor, a situation where 
passing the blame could inhibit prosecution. Addressing the possibility of 
adding a sewerage system in the Belle, Headley explained that Stanley 
Associates is currently carrying out feasibility studies in the area. He 
advised persons not to "jump the gun", since the recommendations "could be to 
do nothing, have a system or an alternative". "Having a system in the Belle, 
you have to dispose of the effluent somewhere. I don't want to say much on 
that because the study is not over," he explained. 


SOURCE: Barbados Advocate