Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur (l) Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley (r)
Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur (l) Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley (r)

The following was posted to Facebook by Minister Denis Kellman who acted as Minister of the Environment for a short period.

Denis Kellman

1 hr ·

As Minister Of the Environment I toured the plant and the swamp and what I was told about he plant and its capacity to function perfectly . I was told that a plant was built that was not suited for us and they have to dump . The most affected person is the lady by the corner by the swamp , who had problems from the inception. MIA AND HER GROUP must take blame for building an outdated plant and now blaming the DLP. We will clean up your mess again. Buses, sanitation trucks, windmill and Sewerage Plant all new to Barbados to old to the world

Sewage Alert!

The revelation in recent weeks that sewage (raw) is spewing into the sea on the South coast should be of concern to all Barbadians. Along with the health concern there is the potential to dent the …

165 responses to “Former BLP Government Blamed for Sewage Problem”


  1. @Dee Word

    What it does is to remove the spin being peddled by the politicians and their surrogates.

    @David, but what exactly will a positive (for raw effluence) water test > mean actually? That the sewerage plant is malfunctioning and spewing raw > gunk into Bajan society or that an act of God precipitated an overflow, due > to flooding, of sewerage? >

  2. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    They are lucky none of my family are vacationing there at this time, cause should any of my relatives or friends get sick because of this government’s blatant disregard and disrespect for the health and welfare of their citizens and guests, there would be hell to pay.

    Contaminated water in Haiti killed tens of thousands, more than the whole population of Barbados…raw sewage anf feces in water bad business…dont be surprised if you get cancellations for another 2 or 3 years.

    Those I know are already talking about Jamaica or Cuba or St. Lucia or Dominica for winter, instead of Barbados, because they want to go sea bathing or river bathing and nit in poop.

    What is angering tourists more than the actual spill which is known to happen everywhere and at one time or another, is the lack of accountability, the refusal to take timely responsibility, the blame someone else mentality being displayed by this gsng of idiots in parliament.

    …..you are the one in government, it’s your neglect, your fault….own it.

    You do not openly insult your citizen’s and your guest’s intelligence with lies and expect them to be happy.


  3. Calling Kellman an idiot is an insult to those Barbadians who elected him and belives that he has done a good job reoresenting the country best interest.


  4. How about when you refer to Arthur as a drunkard?


  5. A person is elected to a constituency in Bim and their responsibility is to represent the interest of their constituents…..taking up responsibilities for a ministry has nothing to do with his constituents.

  6. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    From what some of their yardfowls are spewing, it seems like there is a concerted and calculated effort by all of them to destroy the country if they cannot steal everything and leave the majority population hopeless, in poverty and despair….but they have not factored in that when they do that, there will be nothing left for any of them either, cause those already stolen blighted millions will disappear, the same way Flint’s delicious tiramisu or chocolate cakes disappear in your mouth.

    The large countries are just waiting for the money launderers who believe they can slither out of Barbados and park their stolen millions in Europe and North America…there is nowhere for them to run and they gotta face the majority whom they take so much psychotic pleasure in victimizing and stealing from….the neglect of the sewage leak is now their downfall…it can only get worse for them from here.


  7. The Hon. Minister is not making any sense. What if the Ministry of Transport under a BLP administration had left an open well in a district and children eventually lost their lives would it not be prudent for the minister and his party do something to cover it and prevent further loss of lives. Blaming the BLP is scapegoatism. As my grandmother would say. WHAT ELSE IS THE MINISTER SAYING BESIDES NOTHING.

  8. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Kellman is not minister of sewage, it’s not his responsibility, he should be focused on giving an account to PAC for the disappeared millions from his portfolio. ..the National Housing, why is his mouth in sewage when he does not hold the portfolio, it’s Dennis Lowe is the sewage dude, it’s his portfolio and he is not saying a word, but minister of health Boyce is presenting himself with his mouth filled with lies.


  9. Wunna so concern about this sewage affecting the tourist industry, but I have heard lIttle or no discussion thus far on the immediate impact of this sewage id haveing on ocean life and the environment.

    Furthermore, if we claim we love the beauty our little island has to offer, then we ought to then to focus our discussion on finding solutions to prevent this from happening ever again rather than playing the blame game as the discussion is already heading.

    This idea of blaming a specific party for this sewage problem gets us no way fast, but what we ought to be doing as a conscientious citizenry is to think and focus on ways which would ensure that this problem doesn’t occur again, and if it does occur again, we have a plan in place to arrest the problem before it causes further damage to the ocean life, environment and the tourist industry, which ought not be our major concern at this point.


  10. A poor character flaw of OSAwhich has been witnessed by the public.
    Kellman in the other hand might has opinions of variances which can be argued upon or dismissed but that does not make him an idiot

  11. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2016/12/07/fix-the-pipes/

    We the less educated on BU have been saying this for how long…fix the pipes, simple commonsense. …all of them in parliament, they need a professor to tell them that, things will definitely get worse before they get better, because I doubt they will listen to him either.

  12. Anonymouse - TheGazer Avatar
    Anonymouse – TheGazer

    @John
    Two nice links.
    They demonstrate that there is only do far you can kick the can down the road.

    In the 2015 link someone ‘prophesied’ about the possible threat to the tourism industry. It is only when the “shiit hit the sand” that these pretenders to the throne went into action

    Hopefully, they realize that ducking, dodging and leading from behind is ruining the nation.

    Blaming the previous party is not a solution to any problem. Finger painting or finger pointing is not problem solving.

  13. Anonymouse - TheGazer Avatar
    Anonymouse – TheGazer

    *do far=so far
    *ac=?


  14. David

    These comments by the Minister could do with some discussion…….what say you?

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/91167/estwick-agro-sector-failing

    22 mins

    Is this true?????
    Estwick: Agro sector not failing
    Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick came out swinging in the House of Assembly yesterday, defending improvements in the agricultural sector since the Democratic…
    nationnews.com|By Nation News author

  15. Anonymouse - TheGazer Avatar
    Anonymouse – TheGazer

    @Dompey
    The problrms have been known for some time. So are the solutions.

    You cannot transfer the responsibility of the government to us. Government must lead and axt decisively. Problems tend to multiply. Very few jusf go away

  16. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Where is Piece’s friend Walter Blackman, would love to hear his thoughts on this.

    By the way, is Piece ok.

  17. Anonymouse - TheGazer Avatar
    Anonymouse – TheGazer

    Using a cell phone
    My sincere apologies for generating (ac and Dompey like) typos.

    I like those two jokers

  18. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Dompey..now you worry about the sea life, if it’s killing the fish in the Graeham Hall swamp, what do you think it’s doing to the fish people catch a mile or 2 off Barbados to sell in the markets for citizebs abd guests to cook fir their fsmilies. ..did fishermen not say they see the filth and smell the stench a mile from shore. ..do the math.

    The ministers need to get the media with cameras and all of them take a swim at Worthing Beach to allay the fears of citizens and guests that the water is safe, all on camera and take a couple mouthfuls of water for good measure….the video can be broadcast around the world…to undo the damage the ministers caused….that would definitely bring the tourists back..proof that the water is safe to bathe.

    The ministers can take the ACs and Alvin with them into the water.

  19. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ David of BU:

    It would be nice if you could change the masthead celebrating 50 years of Independence.
    It would be more uplifting to reflect the coming festive season of hope rather than endure the massive hangover from that year-long party.

    Now look and see how Barbados has gone into its 51st year of Independence by way of messing up its only dependable source of forex.

    You should never do the No.2 business in the same water you drink or depend on as your vital source of income.

    Tourism is not only Bim’s No.1 business but also its last remaining bread and butter chance of keeping away the dreaded big bad wolf called the bogey IMF and its Devaluation friend.

    How can Bajans expect to ask visitors to pay a premium price one U S $ only to receive two Bajan dollars worth of shitty value?

    Imagine coming to Barbados and not being able to sit on the beaches to suntan or enter its formerly placid azure safe seas.

    What a right start to the country’s ‘golden’ path of maturity!


  20. millertheanunnaki December 7, 2016 at 1:10 PM #

    We will be enjoying our 50th untill 30Nov2017.

    Yup….mast head could with a bit of a pagan bachanalian touch.


  21. There are many facebook pages where visitors and expats are seen enjoying the pristine waters of beaches that are not effected .
    But of course some in the media like the nation newspaper and some in social media like BU both having a political axe carrying heavily on their shoulders would rather send those messages that are inheritently alligned to their political agenda


  22. It is so sad to witness some self-serving barbadians maliciously exploit failures in the system for their own political gain.
    Where were these voices when these failures were giving sufficient signal reasons for quick action and repair upteenth years ago.
    These extraordinaires of political exploitation ought to be wholly ashamed of themselves.


  23. The sewage problem highlights how backwards our nation has become. We need to learn how other countries deal with their sewage. We lack the foresight, the knowledge and the creativity to pursue a course where the processing of sewage may be harnessed for the benefit of the nation.

    The only solution to this problem is to dismiss the commander-in-chief of the BWA – the hapless Ugandan; and to recruit an outsider who genuinely understands the sewage industry and how sewage can be marketed and turned into a valuable commodity.


  24. Ac
    It’s not any political agenda.It is patriotism.It is what is in the best interest of Barbados.A Barbados for Barbadians and visitors alike to walk,run,jump,drive or swim in peace and comfortable in the knowledge that those to whom the citizens have given the responsibility and pay thru their noses in taxes,levies,give-a-ways to the likes of Sandals and god knows who else that we have not be told or the BLP have not as yet brought up in the house,that our ship of state is in good hands and not governed in an arbitrary,unlawful,unfair,bigoted,
    unreasonable,capricious,irrational,improper,insouciant,supercilious,duplicitous,intolerant,
    narrowminded manner.Dare we hope that the 40% would show up at the next election and dispatch this sorry lot to kingdom come?Bouterse of Surinam,one who has his demons to face yet found the courage to say…”Party interests are more important than friendship and the country’s interest is ever more important than the party interest”Did not Stuart say Parris is not a leper that he is his friend?And that he has a list of investors to expose?And Parris continues to walk about Barbados free from arrest and imprisonment for disobeying a government edict?

  25. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    I would really like to know how this idiot continues to win in his constituency the way he has done for several years. This man is just an absolute rabbit. All of Barbados know the shite that the BLP did over their 14 years in government. How does blaming them for a sewage plant that was running for several years going to fix the problem? If this jackass does not have anything to say why does he continue to open his rip and let that pink thing wag and wobble?

    Since he has identified the problem, he can speak to his other imbeciles to see if they can get the millions to make the plant more modern. Look, I have no respect for the crooked BLP rats, but shite man, they built a plant during a time that was probably suited for Barbados under whatever budget afforded them to.. Does this imbecile not know that a good idea 20 years before can become a bad one as things and circumstances change?


  26. So the 3 pharts have decided they will not attend any PAC called by Mia.OK.I would like to see our system of accountability changed so that like in the US there are various committees designed to question the motives of any elected or selected superior officer of government or the private sector,so that the issue with Abed importing foreign made goods to the detriment of those for whom John Watson spoke,that Abed will be before the parliamentary judges to have his ass burned with a heavy fine.Similarly,Lowe,Sinckler,Quisling Boyce,Kellman,the Lashleys and whoever else mash the crease will be before the house committee to be grilled and burned at the stake if guilty.Until then,we spinning top in mud padna.

  27. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Well Well & Consequences December 7, 2016 at 12:43 PM
    “Where is Piece’s friend Walter Blackman, would love to hear his thoughts on this.

    By the way, is Piece ok.”

    I too would like to enquire into the well being of my BU mentor PUDRYR. He is one of the fine wines of the BU intelligentsia.

    Since Walter B has transmogrified into a full member of the political class that turncoat of a quisling would be proffering NOT one ‘piece’ of comment on the failings of his political masters.


  28. http://www.graemehall.com/press/papers/Graeme%20Hall%20043010%20MEA.pdf

    Check pages 51 and 52 and you will see that the discharge of raw sewage into the swamp has been going on for more than a decade.

    I’ve copied and pasted the contents of the two pages .. they are worth a read!!

    South Coast Sewage Treatment Plant and the Emergency Discharge Structure

    The South Coast Sewage Treatment Plant, located east of the Graeme Hall ecosystem, was
    constructed to provide preliminary treatment of wastewater prior to repumping to an ocean
    outfall. This is simply a screening system — the least intensive among three levels of sewage
    treatment: primary, which utilizes sedimentation; secondary, which reduces biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids; and tertiary, which removes nutrients. The treatment plant was designed within an emergency bypass line directed into the Graeme Hall Bisecting Canal.

    Two 8-inch lines constructed in 2003 release raw sewage into the canal when the treatment plant has an emergency situation. (See the location of the discharge pipes on the Site Plan Attachment
    4A.)

    The Barbados Storm Water Drainage Study (excerpts, Attachment 7) reported how an
    emergency sewage discharge would occur with the sluice gate controlling the overflow. “If an
    emergency overflow were to occur the discharge to the sea could be controlled and monitored in order to minimize environmental impacts. . . . Some cleanup of the channel banks may be required to remove plastics, rags and other objectionable floating debris.” The design of the emergency discharge structure depended on the sluice gate to be fully operational to allow the discharge of raw sewage out to sea. With the sluice gate closed, the pipes allow raw sewage to flow freely into the main lake of the Sanctuary.

    It was reported in 2005 that a raw sewage spill from the treatment plant discharged anywhere
    from 3 million to 6 million gallons of raw sewage via overland flow that made its way across the Government-owned spikerush marsh and ultimately into the lake. That discharge brought
    organic waste, nutrients, and pathogens, as well as chemicals, cleaners, oil and grease, and all the other components of urban sewage. Benthic sampling in February 2010 indicated that some “sudden disturbance” had killed the gastropods in 8 of 10 locations, a finding consistent with the impact of just such an event.

    Other discharges, either by overland flow or by emergency discharge pipe, have not been logged for public review, such that the total quantity of raw sewage discharged into Graeme Hall Sanctuary cannot be quantified at this time. The discharge of untreated raw sewage has human health implications — diseases such as hepatitis, typhoid, cholera, and salmonella, to name a few. Any pathogens discharged into the ecosystem without being recovered or disinfected in some manner present a disease threat to persons who come in contact with the water.

    Public health protocols typically require that disinfectants be used to minimize the impact of
    pathogens from a raw sewage spill. A typical response to such an emergency would require
    containment and retrieval of the waste to put it back into the treatment system. None of these
    measures appears to have been implemented during the raw sewage spill that flowed to the
    Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary in 2005. Rather, the Government seems to have used the wetland itself as the containment area.

    The Barbados Storm Water Drainage Study confirmed this de facto Government policy to allow dumping of sewage into the wetland ecosystem. Upon inquiry, the Barbadian Environmental Protection Department advised that there was no formal protocol for dealing with sewage spills and that each occurrence would be dealt with on an individual basis. As designed and built, the emergency sewage discharge lines have no automatic controls to open the downstream sluice gate when the emergency raw sewage discharge is activated. In fact, the discharge structure appears to have been abandoned.

    The discharge of raw sewage into the spikerush wetland, as happened in 2005 with no
    remediation, can only exacerbate the accumulation of pollutants in the Graeme Hall lake system. Any future emergency discharge of raw sewage in the canal — an inevitability, given the potential for mechanical failure at the sewage treatment plant — will further degrade the water quality and sediment at the Sanctuary.


  29. Some cleanup of the channel banks may be required to remove plastics, rags and other objectionable floating debris
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    This is a perfect assignment for the politicians from the two parties.

    Put a moses in the swamp and let each take a turn clearing all the “.. objectionable floating debris” aka turds from the swamp until all is gone.

    That should keep them out of mischief for a while and they should emerge invigorated from the exercise and determined from the hands on experience to actually solve the problem!


  30. @John

    Who records when the bypass line is opened?How can the public verify?

    On Wed, Dec 7, 2016 at 9:17 PM, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >


  31. Two 8-inch lines constructed in 2003 release raw sewage into the canal when the treatment plant has an emergency situation. (See the location of the discharge pipes on the Site Plan Attachment 4A.)

    I which minister in Seemore’s lot oversaw the construction of these discharge pipes?


  32. It was reported in 2005 that a raw sewage spill from the treatment plant discharged anywhere
    from 3 million to 6 million gallons of raw sewage via overland flow that made its way across the Government-owned spikerush marsh and ultimately into the lake. That discharge brought
    organic waste, nutrients, and pathogens, as well as chemicals, cleaners, oil and grease, and all the other components of urban sewage. Benthic sampling in February 2010 indicated that some “sudden disturbance” had killed the gastropods in 8 of 10 locations, a finding consistent with the impact of just such an event.


  33. David December 7, 2016 at 5:29 PM #
    @John

    Who records when the bypass line is opened? How can the public verify?
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Don’t know!!

    But when there is an act of God like the 29th November, the public finds out!!


  34. “Public health protocols typically require that disinfectants be used to minimize the impact of
    pathogens from a raw sewage spill. A typical response to such an emergency would require
    containment and retrieval of the waste to put it back into the treatment system. None of these
    measures appears to have been implemented during the raw sewage spill that flowed to the
    Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary in 2005. Rather, the Government seems to have used the wetland itself as the containment area.”


  35. Neither one can point a finger at the other!!


  36. http://www.pnuma.org/publicaciones/FINAL%20Barbados%20NES%20Nov%202010-%20edited.pdf

    Here is a 2010 report from the GOB to UNEP

    One little paragraph about Graeme Hall!!

    “Sewage Treatment Plants: The GOB operates two wastewater treatment facilities in Bridgetown and Graeme Hall on the South Coast while most hotels have privately operated sewage treatment plants. Plans are also being developed for a West Coast sewerage system in which water recovery and argumentation will be incorporated Domestic and commercial properties vary in disposal methods from water borne facilities or environmental sanitary pits. Final disposal from homes is underground via septic tank, well or earth pit while effluent from the treatment plants are usually to the sea or underground via a well after primary treatment.”

    Nothing reported to be amiss!!


  37. And the 2005-2025 strategic plan from Seemore and his lot, just four mentions about sewage

    1.7 Promote improved approaches to the management of solid waste and sewage.

    Targets:
    1.1 Establishment of the west coast sewage system.

    http://www.sice.oas.org/ctyindex/BRB/Plan2005-2025.pdf

    … all’s quiet on the Western front!!


  38. Then there is this report in 2010, National Report to The United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Cycle 18/19 (2009/2010)

    http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_pdfs/NationalReports/barbados/Full_text.pdf

    Didn’t see anymore reports, they probably realized they could not keep up the charade much longer!!

  39. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Miller…all of this can only be described as blatant disresoect for the lives of the citizens and tourists by the gang of idiots in parliament…everyone knows the consequences of neglecting sewage problems and water problems, neglect causes these situations to become dire, they all sat on their asses and refused to fix anything that does not have a bribe or kickback attached, they will get no sympathy from me…

    ….I will carry the ministers to the bone for wickedly and maliciously putting lives and health at risk.

    What’s vexatious is that if social media did not make a big stink and embarrass the government, they would never even possess the decorum to apologize for their neglect and incompetence.

  40. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Ah hope Walter knows that no one will take him and the “political class” of idiots seriously ever again in Barbados, he may as well stay home and tend to his other business.

    And they all got a nerve to label themselves far removed from the taxpayers…as a class under themselves… while regressing the island into a shit farm, these backward parasites for politicians and government ministers who would have nothing, no status, no titles, if not for taxpayer’s money.

  41. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    …..as a class unto themselves……one “political class.”

    Yeah, of shithounds.


  42. Speaking of Walter and his disappearing act( maybe he’s in line for a top pick at NIS)what ever became of Grenville Phillips and his businessmen party……

  43. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/91178/river-green

    This is how mature people in companies and in governments accept responsibility and allay fears…from Day 1….

    …..this company did not deny or try to paint the citizens as liars when they reported the spill like the Barbados government did…….they stepped up because accidents do happen, but when it’s a deliberate act, there is lots to hide and lie about.

    Walter has a lot of soul searching to do…cause the gang he is aligned with in parliament, seem to have no souls.


  44. Apparently, certain areas in St. Lucy were without water.

    A few hours ago Kellman wrote on his FB page that the BLP turned off the valves thereby preventing people in these areas from getting water.

    In other words, Kellman blamed the BLP for the water outage in the north.

    If wunnuh doan believe me, read the following:

    Denis Kellman: 12 hrs • I want to apologize to My constituents who were and are out of water. The valves are on now to allow the water to flow. hopefully as I speak the one at the berry hill is on too and I hope when the time is right the one at Boscobelle will be on too. This BLP sabotaging must stop.

    Mel Mel : Are we to understand that someone turned off the valves?
    Like • Reply • 1 • 12 hrs

    Denis Kellman yes
    Like • Reply • 1 • 11 hrs

    Hahahahahahahahahaha, I just like Mr. Dale….. I duz gaw laugh!!!!


  45. Some cleanup of the channel banks may be required to remove plastics, rags and other objectionable floating debris
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    This is a perfect assignment for the politicians from the two parties.
    Put a moses in the swamp and let each take a turn clearing all the “.. objectionable floating debris” aka turds from the swamp until all is gone.
    That should keep them out of mischief for a while and they should emerge invigorated from the exercise and determined from the hands on experience to actually solve the problem!

    And for the first time since taking office they could finally be said to be performing a useful service for their fellow citizens.


  46. “The government officials from the Ministry of Public Works and the Coastal Zone Management Unit visited South Florida with the intention of gaining technical knowledge relevant to the effective management of the drainage at Graeme Hall Swamp, with consideration given to wetland and stormwater management systems, under which the existing sluice gate at Worthing Beach falls.

    The purpose ofthe visit was therefore achieved through the experiences ofthose three (3) days in Florida. The knowledge and information gained must now be complemented by further research. Any use of the technical applications observed in South Florida cannot be direct – owing to some differences in the two environments – and would obviously have to be adapted to meet the needs ofthe Graeme Hall Swamp.

    The replacement of the existing sluice gate appears to be a suitable option, with the installation of an additional one – be it in conjunction with a weir, or separately – at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. Whatever steps are taken should be a part of a broader management plan for the swamp.

    However, as was stated in a recent meeting ofthe Graeme Hall Stewardship Programme, the comprehensive list of major issues facing the swamp must all be clearly identified before a comprehensive management plan can be formulated and implemented to adequately address these issues.

    http://www.graemehall.com/press/papers/Report-The%20Graeme%20Hall%20Swamp%20Technical%20Visit%20to%20Florida,%20USA.pdf


  47. That one was from 2005!!


  48. I’m convinced that Jester Ince & Denis Kellman are the modern day version of Bud Abbott & Lou Costello or Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.

  49. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Or Beavis and Butthead.

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