St. Maarten Private Eye

Love the Lagoon, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean

Water is of crucial importance to almost all forms of life. It is a priceless natural resource and consists of marine (the sea and lagoon), freshwater (the Fresh Pond), saltwater (Great Salt Pond) and groundwater (springs) ecosystems or environments.

People, our economies, ecosystems, wildlife, recreation and transportation all depend on clean sources of water. Just have a look at the many ways we use water on a daily basis: bathing, brushing our teeth, cooking, washing our cars, swimming, fishing and boating just to name a few examples. No matter how we use water or what we use it for we all need it to be clean.

Water quality is determined by water’s biological, physical,chemical and visual (aesthetic) characteristics. These characteristics include temperature, salinity, oxygen levels, bacteria count, pH, clarity and mineral content. Analysts settle on water quality by measuring or testing the aforementioned characteristics. The main grounds for this characterization are factors which relate to drinking water, recreation and the health of ecosystems. In other words water quality testing is carried out to answer the following questions: Does the water’s characteristics fulfill requirements? What is in the water?, Is it suitable as drinking water, for recreation or for sustaining marine/ aquatic organisms?

How water quality relates to the Simpson Bay Lagoon:
Factors and human activities which take place in and around the Simpson Bay Lagoon mentioned in earlier Lagoon Logs such as Land reclamation, Sewage and Urban run-off, Illegal waste disposal, Wrecks, Boating and Marina activities and the dumping of car batteries all contribute to the pollution of the area’s surface- and groundwater.

Water Pollution in general and in this case the pollution of the Simpson Bay Lagoon can have a wide range of causes and effects. Oil and fuel spills from pleasure yachts and ships have the potential to kill birds, turtles, fish and other forms of marine life. Erosion as a result of Land reclamation or the removal of mangroves increases siltation and thereby reduces the oxygen available for marine life. Chemicals and heavy metals which end up in the lagoon can accumulate in the fatty tissues of aquatic animals and may eventually end up being absorbed by people through the consumption of contaminated fish.

Water quality in the Simpson Bay Lagoon has been a major concern for both residents and visitors in recent years. Water quality testing and improvement is therefore an essential part of EPIC’s Love the Lagoon project. The American University of the Caribbean (AUC) and Environmental Protection In the Caribbean (EPIC) are currently negotiating terms to facilitate a partnership in sampling and publicizing results on water quality tests of samples from a number of locations in the Simpson Bay Lagoon.

Make sure you read the next Lagoon Log for more information on the Simpson Bay Lagoon, water quality and EPIC’s Love the Lagoon project.
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Rueben J. Thompson
Project Manager Love the Lagoon,
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean

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