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Mud Baths at Dawn Beach - Irresponsible Parents?

Some photos were sent in today from Dawn Beach where children had been noticed playing with and in the mud that washes down through the Westin Culvert from the 'retention pond'.
Photos are below. The parents were approached apparently and thought nothing of it. Perhaps they just didn't realise that the water that washes down this culvert comes from the Westin Sewage plant and from the valley above where Westin have a trailer park. Even after being told they did nothing. I would call this irresponsible, how about you?

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This is where the mud and water comes from.

Silly Parents! Poor Kids, lets hope they don't get sick.

Flipper

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Submitted by Flipper on Sun, 2007-05-20 19:13.

Westin Retention 'Hole"
Local Hero | Thu, 2007-05-24 10:54

Like others, I also refuse to call it a pond, it is a hole in the ground, build by holes. The photos were taken yesterday, as you can see, there is plenty of algae floating on the top of it, particularly down at the far end where the pipes from the sewage plant enter it. I have no idea what the pipes it the road side end are for. Algae is usually a pretty sure sign that water has excessive nutrients, most often in the form of sewage waste.

LH

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the dawn beach culvert is an environmental crime
jadira veen | Mon, 2007-05-21 09:50

I cannot believe the pictures Flipper, The dawn beach culvert that runs right into the dawn beach, beach sand is polluted like the Zagersgut channel. This act by the hotel is a blatent act of pollution to the beach and ocean environment. For a hotel to remove a natural pond with the backing of the EXCO and the VROM environmental department is a crime.

This pond acted as a natural filtering water body that was part of the old Dawn Beach hotel, the previous hotel was built around the pond, the WESTIN hotel built by Columbia Sussex removes the pond and builds an artificial detention 'hole' back up the valley where sewage water is entering and it runs down unto the beach. The pictures clearly show green algae in the water coming from the culvert.

it goes to show that whatever developers want, they get. WE DO NOT HAVE a government environmental department. How else to explain this culvert?
In other countries, people would have been fired, Commissioners would have been asked to resign for approving something of this nature where the environment clearly is polluted every day because of this culvert.

And to think that this hotel was the host of the recently concluded SMART trade show, our Lt. Governor made some nice empty speeches about the environment, had the lt. Governot taken the time to visit the beach and listen to the constant noise from the environmental group about this project, he would not have written a speech mentioning good environmental practices.

The location where he gave the speech is a clear example of very bad environmental practices, a culvert that runs dirty water into the beach, a generator that produces noise 24/7, a sewage plant that produces foul smells, and noise 24/7, residents that have lost their peace and quiet A coral reef that has been lost due to the pumping of the ponds silt bottom into the ocean.
What more can be said?

Jadira

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Where is that?
Anonymous (not verified) | Sun, 2007-05-20 22:05

Ew what a disgusting mess. Where is that drainage culvert, on the beach? Next thing you know there are going to be some naked folks jumping off a catamaran to go and roll in that stuff!

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Location
Dr. Voodoo | Sun, 2007-05-20 23:15

The culvert is right where Scavengers used to be.

Theres a big difference in the Mud found on Tintamarre, which in fact has a very nice effect on skin, and this mud which is full of god knows what from the septic plant waste water. Water tha NOBODY tests, as far as we know. Silly parents indeed.

Dr. Voodoo

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Eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww
Anonymous (not verified) | Mon, 2007-05-21 13:32

Yuck, yuck, yuckety yuck ! Can some one please take a sample of that mud and check see what is in there !! Can the parents be charged with reckless endagerment of a child(ren) ? And as for that ugly monsterosity of a "hotel"..shame, shaaaaaame on you!

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There is no one to test
Hady Nufyet | Mon, 2007-05-21 13:38

Govt does not test jack shit, enviro foundations can't because they are all on shoe string budgets and tests cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It's the same all over the island. We have mentioned it here before and I even tried to find a foundation or organisation in Holland to help us do a survey of places around the island, but no luck. If we could do a series of independant testing, then we would have the data and facts to hammer govt to get it's act together. Anybody got some spare cash or can help with the testing? We can get the samples.
No, I doubt that the parents can be charged, perhaps there are laws, but who is going to apply them?

Hady

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water test
Anonymous (not verified) | Mon, 2007-05-21 18:20

samples can be sent to the Institut Pasteur in Guadeloupe or France, is not too expensive , we paid around 200 euros to test the waters in the French side ponds.

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Is that per test?
Local Hero | Mon, 2007-05-21 21:56

I'm no expert, but what I understand is that the more substances you are testing for, the more it costs. A test at Westin to determine their discharge from their sewage plant into their retention hole might not be too expensive, because there is probably no need to test for heavy metals, pcb's etc. When it comes to places like the Salt, Fresh and Belair Ponds, Great Bay and Simpson Bay and Lagoon, there are many tests that need to be done for each location, so the cost mounts up.

The Nature Foundation has a very tight budget, it gets some funds from Govt, it would be a big risky step to get into doing this. I understand SXM Pride got cash donations of about $250 last year, so obviously they don't have any money to do it. Businesses? Well, there have been several calls on here for businesses to get involved, it is after all in their best interest not to see the island turn into a toxic and dirty mess. Haven't heard from anyone here. Residents? Maybe there are one or two who would finance the tests for Dawn Beach and the retention pond.

LH

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"mud pool for kids"
Dermot | Tue, 2007-05-22 08:01

Well at least down here in Bonaire we don't "yet have that kind of situation" Flipper and SXM PE have been banging on about all this for some time now, I don't know how he keeps it up. What is wrong with people up there.Unlike here you get all the info people have been aware for some time about the black and gray water situation!! Wait, till one of those kids gets sick.......

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