Tag Archives: wetlands

Are Messrs Donville Inniss and Denis Lowe Aware the Inoperability of the Sluice Gate Adds to the Dengue Worry?

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The following was posted on another BU blog by Nostradamus

Dengue Alert!

Dengue Alert!

Nation Newspaper today Feb 14, 2013 front page headline  “Dengue worry”. Start of the story says “There has been a worrying spike in dengue cases so far this year. And the Ministry of Health views the situation so seriously that it has issued a bulletin to doctors, reminding them to report any suspected cases of the disease.”

Further on it says the Ministry of Health stated in a release that among other things that it would maintain surveillance at various sites and one of those areas noted is WETLANDS.  Is the  Ministry of Health aware that the sluice has  not and is not  functioning and that there has been no effective wetland water level control in place for many years ?  No interchange of sea water and fresh water that is so vital to the health of the wetland and for a  vibrant fish population to control mosquitoes naturally?   When the sluice gate worked, it was possible  to raise the water levels and get water flowing through the canals.   Flowing water in the canals means fewer mosquitoes.

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Sewage Operations Threaten Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary And Wetlands

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Submitted by Greame Hall Nature Sanctuary

Graeme Hall Swamp

[Bridgetown, BARBADOS] According to officials at Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, the emergency sewage pipe and outfall from the South Coast Sewerage Treatment Plant facility to the sea has been effectively abandoned and is not operational, threatening the biodiversity and operation of the Sanctuary and Graeme Hall wetland.

Inspections last week confirmed continued silting of the Emergency Discharge Canal Structure outfall at the bisecting canal and an inoperative sluice gate at Worthing Beach. The approved Emergency Discharge Canal Structure was completed in 2003 to direct emergency sewage to the sea when needed by the three (3) million gallon-per-day South Coast sewage facility.

In sharp conflict with the originally approved operation of the facility, during emergency operations the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) manually bypasses the Emergency Discharge Canal and pumps sewage directly into the wetland. The Sanctuary and the wetland continue to accumulate contaminated sludge from this and other source points outside the wetland.

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Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Waits For Government Proposal

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Submitted by Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

graemehall1[Bridgetown, BARBADOS] Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary officials were pleased to read in the Nation that the Government of Barbados has apparently assigned a Bds. $1 million budget estimate for Graeme Hall. “We have not seen a formal proposal from government in regard to how these funds will be used, but look forward to giving the proposal our full attention when it is received,” said Stuart Heaslet, representative for the Sanctuary.

Heaslet acknowledged that the Sanctuary had not requested operational funds from Government.

“The real problem is not one of day-to-day operational sustainability of the Sanctuary. It is a much bigger problem than that. The closure is an interim step to limit exposure to environmental and other risks to its owner and his family – there are serious environmental problems outside of the Sanctuary that endanger the wetland and hence the US $35 million private capital investment at Graeme Hall.

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