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Small Islands Voice Global Forum
Is the water clean?
Many of you did not receive an earlier message, ‘Is the water clean?’ This was due to some technical problems we have been experiencing. Now that these difficulties have been resolved, and especially since World Water Day is celebrated this week (22 March 2006), we have decided to resend the message.
‘This morning I heard on the news that “we” have been taking sewage waste from cruise-ships for the past eight years.’ This was the opening line of a recent letter to the Editor, written by Lianna Jarecki and published in the Standpoint newspaper, 10 February 2006, in the British Virgin Islands, a small group of islands in the Caribbean. The letter continues: Must I then conclude that, knowing that we have a severe problem dealing with our own sewage from 20,000 people on Tortola, we are facilitating the disposal of sewage from 450,000 cruise-ship passengers who visit each year? I find this shocking. We have no sewage treatment facilities (except a small one serving Cane Garden Bay), and therefore we are obliged to pump untreated sewage into the sea at Slaney Point, 150 yards offshore, with leaks into nearby marinas. If the line gets blocked, the sewage gets diverted into Road Harbour. To make things worse, the septic tanks that serve most of the hillside buildings are ineffective because Tortola’s soil layer is too thin to retain the septic overflow, which therefore runs straight into the waterways and the sea. Are we surprised that tourists write editorials in our newspapers about pollution and the condition of our waters? Are we surprised that Road Town and Nanny Cay smell like cesspools? Are we surprised that our nearshore waters are turning brown and green from micro organisms that feed on this sewage while our coral reefs and seagrass beds are dying? I am not surprised at the falling water quality and loss of marine life caused by sewage pollution. But, I am surprised that instead of addressing the long-standing problem of sewage pollution, “we” are wilfully adding to it by inviting the cruise ships to effectively dump in our waters. How is it possible that the people of Tortola watch this, breathe this, fish and swim and ride on boats without forming a strong desire to change the way we treat our environment?
The problems of marine pollution do not stop in the British Virgin Islands. An article in the Fiji Times (2 February 2006) had the headline “Don’t eat shellfish from Suva Harbour: Warning.” Studies in the past had proven the Harbour was heavily contaminated with high levels of paint and rubbish. This pollution is a threat to marine life and could ultimately affect people eating marine life from there. But who is responsible for cleaning up the Harbour? Mrs. Singh of the Environment Department says: “It is not only the Government's responsibility to clean up the Harbour. It's everyone’s."
Taking the discussion further, the question arises – how clean is the water from the tap? Recent articles from Fiji indicate cause for concern. Five-year-old Sovia rests on her mother’s shoulder as they join a queue waiting for medical attention at the Health Centre in Nasinu, Fiji (Pacific), reports the Fiji Times (15 February 2006). Too late for Sovia, Health officials call for caution, and authorities warn that all tap water must be boiled after fears that a waterborne virus is causing infections. Health officials report a high number of patients suffering from abdominal pain, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Whilst the Ministry of Works treats tap water to make it safe to drink and to ensure that it does not carry waterborne diseases, there are many rural water schemes in Fiji and people also use creeks and wells for drinking water and washing.
Meanwhile in the Labasa area of Fiji, the number of cases of influenza and diarrhoea increased sharply in February, believed by Health officials to be a result of flooding around the country. One farmer was reported in serious condition with leptospirosis, a waterborne disease caused by the urine of livestock contaminating water, and there have been reports of typhoid. Health Ministry officials called for increased care with sanitation and personal hygiene by those living in areas that have been affected by the floods (Fiji Times, 11 February 2006).
Adapted from newspaper articles in Fiji Times, 2, 10, 11 February 2006; Standpoint, 10 February 2006.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr allows for translation into other languages. For those who prefer, you may respond to this forum in Español, Français or Português.
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