St. Maarten Private Eye

Some photos kindly send in by a reader yesterday show quite well the effects a little rain can have at Dawn Beach. And it was just a little rain, compared with some rains we've had here over the last years, not to mention hurricanes like Lenny.

It appears (not confirmed) that the developer opened up the pond to the sea this weekend to allow the water to run off into it, along with all the dirt washed down from the cleared land around it. Anyone with half a brain understands that the whole point in preserving the pond is because it allows rain waters to settle and the silts to sink to the bottom of the pool. There is rarely any need to open such ponds to the sea because the excess water subsides through the beach, filtering it some more.

Paul Mooij, where are you? As a member of this community I ask that you take action on this issue. It is my understanding that three government departments will support you, along with the Nature Foundation and various international groups with the scientific expertise to back it up.

And on a side note but very relevant here is the fact government is not listening to it's departments, if I recall correctly, this is one of the reasons why Higher Supervision was imposed on the island some years back. It's time for the issue of development, or overdevelopment, to get some attention. The social structure of the island is a mess and the infrastructure is under pressure, how much can the island take or actually need?

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