http://www.nwcjamaica.com/WASTE_WATER.asp

Storm Water
Runoff water from rains. In Jamaica storm water should not be allowed to flow into the wastewater sewers, although it is known to happen.

I foresee another mass banning; kind of like a fish kill in the Irie River

I foresee another mass banning; kind of like a fish kill in the Irie River

http://www.nepa.gov.jm/symposia_03/Policies/BeachPolicyforJamaica-November2000.pdf

"b. Sewage Pollution

The disposal of domestic waste into coastal waters is a significant factor affecting
the marine environment. A large number of coastal communities lack basic sewage
treatment facilities and therefore discharge nutrient-rich sewage into the sea.
Sewage effluent standards exist and will soon be promulgated into law.

The National Water Commission has the main responsibility for the collection,
treatment and disposal of sewage, and the operation and maintenance of sewage
treatment plants in Jamaica. Over the last three years, the NWC has established
collection and treatment systems in three major resort areas and there is
currently a proposal for an expanded municipal sewerage system for the Kingston
Metropolitan Area. The difficulty, however, is that very few households and small
commercial operations have connected to the new systems due to the high cost of
connection. Older plants owned by the NWC have not been properly maintained,

26
but there is a proposal to rehabilitate all the sewage treatment plants and bring
them into harmony with the design specification standards.
Other agencies owning and operating sewage treatment plants have failed to
maintain them over the years and have also contributed significantly to the
pollution of the marine environment.

The high cost of installing treatment plants, and the difficulties of maintaining
them in good operational condition, have led to many coastal properties relying on
soak away pits for sewage disposal. The problem is further compounded in that
most of these properties are situated on porous limestone bedrock, with the result
that sewage disposal systems frequently leach nutrients and sometimes bacteria
into the adjacent coastal water.

The NRCA and the local health departments have the responsibility to undertake
regular monitoring of sewage treatment plants"

OK that was just one quote from the document i linked above,
this was 2000 I wonder what has been done since?

Who tests the water? Or who is responsible for testing the water..

As I said before, seems it should be easy to produce some results to give people some peace of mind.

there is a link that rjonson posted about two different trips he made to the negril waste water treatment plant..

When I get home it will be interesting to see what transpired on the thread (Discolored water) I started on the other board. When I left for work this morning there were 190+ views and 15 responses. I cannot get to the other board from here since my company has it blacklisted. Something about provocative attire :-)

Oh OK BP - Thanks.

Good question Dawn. Like many things in JA its hard to get to the bottom of this
This issue is really distracting me today

I went to google maps looked up Sheffield, Westmoreland, Jamaica

i see a very large area above the golf course divided in squares. I am thinking this must be the treatment plant. Now, if you zoom in, there is a place that looks like it connects that huge (what i think is a leach field) with the river - does anyone else see that? Could that be a place where things overflow after too much rain?

Rootswoman- that is the pipe that sends the treated water into the river. The question of the day is---- how well treated?

ahh Ok now i see - i was just linked to the report -

i felt assured - for a minute
and then i thought
"Shouldn't the test results should be posted to the public on a regular basis" ?

have the beaches EVER been closed to swimmers?