“We are challenged in this regard and we are taking steps and working with many government agencies, including the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, the Port Department as well as Water & Sewerage to assist us with putting the proper infrastructure in place, so that persons can easily access sewerage connections to discharge of their sewerage in a proper manner.”
During a press conference at the Nassau Harbour, Mr. Pinder said that waste has been discharged in and around the Potter’s Cay Dock area, of which last reports were received some three to four weeks ago.
“We got a report of one or two mail boats in the area, discharging what appeared to be human waste. It was not a significant amount, but it was enough for someone to complain to the Department,” he said.
“We immediately dispatched health inspectors in the area and again, it was very difficult to determine which mail boat the discharge came from, but we are continuing to monitor the environment through EMRA (Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment Division.)
Mr. Pinder said DEHS would have to better police and regulate the Potter’s Cay Dock area, in addition to establishing better control mechanisms to ensure that mail boats, sloops and other vessels are removed from the immediate area where conch is stored.
He pointed out, that if food is properly washed, prepared and surfaces are clean, the level of contamination would be reduced.
Meanwhile, in an effort to detect any traces of sewerage, oil and chemical discharge, the Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment (EMRA) Division of the Department of Environmental Health (DEHS) closely monitored the waters off Nassau Harbour on Friday.
Although the waters in some areas, mainly Potter’s Cay Dock and Prince George Wharf seemed contaminated to the naked eye, testing showed that all five areas inspected met Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. These standards comprise of 200 colonies per hundred milliliters of water samples taken.
According to Mr. Pinder, satisfactory microbiological results do not mean that all persons adhere to regulations or that there is no contamination, but is largely due to the excellent tidal flow that exists in Nassau’s Harbour.
Meanwhile, departing Nassau Harbour in an open 12 foot speed boat, members of the press, Mr. Pinder and Operations Manager of Baychem Spill Technologies Ltd, Patrick Bain, watched closely as EMRA Technologist, Arlington Bethel, tested the PH (acidity) levels of the Montagu off-shore, Potter’s Cay, Malcolm Park, Prince George Wharf and Arawak Cay areas. He also conducted a microbiological and chemical analysis, which include: Fecal chloroforms dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity and the total dissolved solids.
Mr. Pinder said the concentration of fecal matter in certain areas might be a bit higher than others, because there may be more people and activity in these areas. He said because of this, a threat is posed to marine life and human life, therefore DEHS has to be more vigilant with its monitoring, in addition to sensitizing boat owners about how best to dispose of their waste.
“Obviously DEHS can’t be everywhere and in most cases, when we do find discharges, it is very difficult to determine who and where that discharge came from,” he said, adding that the penalty for illegal waste dumping on the coast is as much as $10,000 or a prison sentence.
Mr. Pinder concluded that DEHS will continue to be vigilant with safeguarding all recreational and commercial water and reminded all who operate in and around the water, to ensure that they dispose waste, oil, cleaning agents, fecal waste, solid waste and all general waste in an appropriate manner.”
EMRA Technologist, Arlington Bethel said the coastal areas of New Providence are inspected once a week, of which a normal acidity level showing no signs of contamination, must be between a PH level of six through eight. He said if the acidity level of coastal areas go beyond an acidity level of eight, the wharf or beach area would be considered highly contaminated and monitoring would either have to be increased, or the areas would be forced to close. This trend has never happened in The Bahamas, Mr. Bethel claimed.
Operations Manager at Baychem Spill Technologies Ltd, Mr. Patrick Bain, said that throughout the coastline inspection, only a small sheen of oil was detected in the water that was tested.
In order to determine the total amount of oil that was actually spilled, Mr. Bain said a TRPH (total recovery petroleum hydro-carbon) test would have to be carried out. He also mentioned that spills are normally found in those areas where boats get fuel and at times, boats pump their bilge’s overboard.
Meanwhile, The Goodman’s Bay, Saunders Beach and Orange Hill areas were also scheduled for inspection but two officers of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force interrupted the inspection process to request information at three different intervals.
And even though Mr. Pinder and the EMRA Technologist, Arlington Bethel explained the purpose of Friday’s inspection, all members on board were told to sail to the Port to answer further questions, after which we were immediately demanded to return to Nassau Harbour.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
